Life is never normal at Hogwarts
by GinevraFangirl
Summary: This is a story about Su Holkar, the first Muggle-born Slytherin ever, who goes to school in the same year as James, Fred and Roxanne. Follow her through her journey at Hogwarts. DISCONTINUED.
1. The Platform

_Disclaimer: Everything except the Main Character belongs to JK Rowling._

Chapter 1 - King's Cross

It was a beautiful day, and my first time in England, and I was bouncing on my feet. I was in King's Cross Station, London and it was the 1st of September. In my hand, I held a ticket that read _Hogwarts Express: Platform 9 3/4_. My family seemed nervous.

"Let's go! It's already half past ten!"

My father laughed at my enthusiasm. My parents had been very proud when Professor Porter had come to our house almost a year ago and explained that I was a witch, and my brother was a wizard. According to him, I was old enough to attend _Hogwarts School of Witchcaft and Wizardry_ , though my brother, Dev, had to wait for another two years. I had always been confused by my brother's and my abilities and his visit had cleared everything up. I had been fascinated by this new side of mine, had bought loads of books by _Owl Order_ and had spent every free minute reading up on the Wizarding World.

We had spent the last week in London. We visited Muggle as well as Magical sites. My favourite place had been Diagon Ally. It was beautiful and proved the existence of wonders I had only read about. I bought all my text books, a cauldron, potion ingredients, robes, and wand. Now I am a proud owner of 11 1/4 inch long Ash wood wand with a Unicorn hair core and unyielding flexibility.

We made our way to the platforms 9 and 10. I took the lead as I lead them to the barrier that I had read about in _Hogwart's: A History_. It seemed very solid and just like the other barriers.

"Okay, I will go first. Just copy me and believe that you can go through, okay?" I grinned at them. "See you on the other side."

With those words, I pushed my trolley through the barrier. Instinctively, I closed my eyes. When the crash didn't come, I opened them to Platform 9 3/4.

It was breathtaking. I felt surreal, standing there, gaping at the scarlet steam engine with the sign Hogwarts Express painted on in thick black letter. Then I remembered that my family had yet to come through, and hastily shifted my position. Just in time, since they came through and stood at the same spot that I had been standing seconds ago.

"Wow." Dev summed up all my awe in that one word.

I nodded.

Together we made our way through the huge number of families that had come to bid their children goodbye. Everywhere I saw parents hugging their children and them making their way onto the train. Owls and cats were locked in cages, and I even saw the occasional rat. Most students were in Muggle attire, though I saw some already wearing their robes. I was so focused on my surroundings, that I wasn't even nervous about which House I would be sorted into.

"I will miss you, Papuli." My father was rather sad that he wouldn't get to see me for three months. The nickname he reserved for me had yet to get old.

"I will miss you too. I will write every week." I felt bad that I was secretly relieved to be away from my family for a while. I loved them, but they could be a little overwhelming. My parents didn't know that, since they would be crushed, especially my dad. I would miss them, at some point, but not every single moment. Diplomacy was my best option.

"You won't forget your old Papa? And your old Mom?"

I almost rolled my eyes. Almost.

"Of course not. You aren't that easy to forget."

"Cheeky girl. You better write regularly."

I hugged him. We were very alike.

"I will."

Then I let go and faced my mom.

"I love you, my little girl!"

"I love you all too." I said, as I gave her one of my famous Squeeze-as-tight-as-I-can-hugs.

Dev put on a sad expression.

"Don't leave me all alone, sis!"

I felt bad for the kid. He was having a bit of a hard time at Muggle school.

"You'll be fine. I will be back before you know it! I love you." I hugged him hard too. "Now, time to go! Bye!"

With a look at the three of them, I climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express. It wasn't full yet, so I managed to find an empty compartment. My trunk was heavy, but I had a strong pair of arms thanks to years of wrestling with my athletic brother. I lifted it and stashed it in the overhead compartment. As I looked out the window, I saw that my family was waving at me. I waved back enthusiastically.

Soon, the whistle went off, and the train started moving. I removed _Hogwart's: A History_ and got comfortable reading.

 _ **A/N:**_ _So, that was the first chapter. Hope you liked it! I will update once a week, I hope._

 _28/8 I made some changes suggested by **Radio Free Death.** Thanks for pointing that out!_


	2. The Hogwarts Express

_Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling._

Chapter 2 – Aboard the Hogwarts Express.

After barely 5 minutes, the door to my compartment opened, and two boys and a girl came in. One of the boys had messy black hair and brown eyes. The other boy and the girl had dark skin, red hair and blue eyes, and could have been twins.

The black-haired boy spoke first.

"Do you mind if we sit here? Everywhere else is too full."

"No, of course not. Please, take a seat." I smiled up at them, hoping that they weren't prejudiced idiots. All three smiled back, though boys clearly had more of a mischievious smirk, than a smile. I was slightly alarmed by that.

When they were done stashing their trunks, they sat down opposite me. I had put my book away because I didn't want to seem rude. After a few seconds of awkward silence, I introduced myself.

"I'm Su Holkar. What about you?"

The black-haired boy was the first to speak.

"James Potter. These are my cousins."

"I am Fred Weasley."

"Roxanne Weasley."

I smiled again.

"It's my first time at Hogwarts. What about you?"

They stared at me for a while. I thought I had done something wrong.

James spoke up.

"You're Muggle-born aren't you?"

I tensed inwardly, but simply raised an eyebrow.

"Yes I am, does it matter?" My tone colder than before.

Roxanne intervened.

"No, no. It doesn't. James is just being stupid. Okay, this will sound really arrogant, but most people have some sort of an involuntary reaction when they hear our name. So we figured that you didn't recognise it, so you are Muggle-born." She looked slightly ashamed. "Oh Merlin, that makes it sound that every one in the Magical World knows who we are."

"It's true." said Fred.

"Shut up, Fred. Don't be such a prat." She glared at him.

"I was just-"

Before this went on any further, I decided to step in.

"I do know who you are, but I assumed that you wouldn't want the attention. And I was reserving judgement. Your last name isn't a guarantee of your personality." I was more friendly after that.

"That's really thoughtful of you." Roxanne smiled at me, and I decided that I liked her.

"So, what House do you think that you will be sorted to?"

"Gryffindor, like the rest of our family." James replied in a cocky voice.

I was quite used to dealing with cocky boys from when I attended Muggle primary school, so it simply amused, rather than irritated me.

"You seem very certain. Good for you." I grinned at him.

"What about you? Let me guess. You already know a lot about our world, so you are like Aunt Hermione. Ravenclaw?"

"Actually, I am not really sure. I could fit in, in all Houses. I don't really care. I just want to experience Hogwarts." I wasn't really honest there. I could be a coward sometimes, and I knew all my friendlyness was just an act, so the only options were Slytherin or Ravenclaw. I was afraid that I wasn't smart enough to be a Ravenclaw, but I had a hunch that my new friends ( for want of a better word ) would not like Slytherin as an answer. And I didn't recall a single Muggle-born Slytherin in all books I'd read. But I did not care all that much.

Fred gaped. "You don't care? Not even if you are in Slytherin?"

"Not really."

"But-"

"Freddie, I think that's the only answer you are going to get." Roxanne wisely shut him up.

James decided it was time to intervene.

"You probably know all about us, now tell us about you."

I rolled my eyes at his comments, but answered anyway. "My parents are Muggles, but my brother is a wizard. Proffessor Porter visited our house on my 11th birthday to explain everything. Quite a feat, since I live in India. I used Owl Order to get some books so that I wasn't ignorant when it was time for school, while going to Muggle school, and told my friends I was going to a Scottish Boarding School."

They were curious about my old school, and kept asking me loads of questions about it, as well as India and why I could speak English so well. My mother, Ana, was French and my father, Prasad, was an Indian. I had been accepted originally into Beauxbatons, and got my letter a month before my birthday, but since I did not know French that well, my parents decided to send me to Hogwarts. Since most Muggles started school at the age of 6, so did I, even though I had some incidents of accidental magic. Luckily, most of them happened at home, so we didn't break the International Statue of Secrecy. When my brother started having accidental magic as well, I recieved the letter and visit from Beauxbatons, which calmed my parents, and made them proud. My dad was slightly disappointed that I would not end up the first female General Secretary of the United Nations, but he got over it pretty quickly when he realised what I could become in the Wizarding World.

By the time the Trolley-Witch came by, I had learnt all about the Weasleys and their crazy antics. From what I heard, they were really loud and tended to have some memorable event every get-together. I couldn't believe the number of cousins that they had, or that they all had red hair (except James, his younger brother Albus, and the children of Bill and Fleur Weasley, who were blond).

Roxanne told me what sweets I should go for, but not having much of a sweet tooth, I just bought some Chocolate Frogs and Sugar Quills. They knew what they wanted, and opted for Every Flavour Beans and Liqorice wands. I was curious to see what cards I would get.

"Come on, open it up." said James. "I bet you 2 Galleons that's Dad."

"Deal. Just because you always get him doesn't mean everyone does, you know." said Fred, grinning.

James smirked back, "I think that being the Saviour of the World warrants a lot of cards dedicated to him."

"He is not the only-"

I soon lost track of their bickering when I wondered randomly whether their cheeks hurt constantly from all the smiling, grinning and smirking that they did. Or had the pain stopped by the age of 6? I wouldn't be surprised. Even if I just met them, I could tell James Potter and Fred Weasley were in a perpetual good mood. My thoughts were continuing off tangent as I slowly opened the box. I had to stop then because the frog seemed fast. Quickly, I grabbed it and bit its head off. It was delicious.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you end up a Ravenclaw, you know, judging by the fact that you probably know more about the Wizarding World than we do." Fred complimented me offhandedly.

"Nah, I don't think so." I waved it off, "But thanks."

"So what card is it?"

In my haste to prevent the frog from escaping, my card lay forgotten on the seat. I picked it up.

"Ronald B. Weasley. Cool! I always liked him."

"Damn! That was pretty close." James scowled as he handed over the money.

"Thanks for making me rich, Su!"

"Actually, I don't really approve of gambling-"

"Aww Man! Another Aunt Hermione!"

"Big sums." I finished with a grin. "An Indian King in Mythology was so addicted that he lost everything gambling with a relative who was cheating, including his 4 younger brothers and his wife. His uncle felt sorry for him and gave everything back. But when he was invited to another round, he hadn't learnt his lesson yet and was forced to spend 13 years in exile with his brothers and wife. So, I don't approve too much of it."

"I stand by my previous comment." Fred smirked mischieviously.

I simply shrugged.

"Uncle Ron always said that getting a Chocolate Frog card of his own was his greatest achievment." said James.

"Well he was always a bit of a nutter." said Roxanne.

"Have you noticed that he hides from Aunt Hermione when he's eating something he shouldn't?"

"He did that at our End-of-summer-party."

I was quite interested in hearing about their family, as I admired them, but didn't wan't to scare off my new friends by acting like a fangirl. And my stomach was starting to rumble.

"Let's try some Every Flavour Beans."

Just as James picked a brown coloured bean for me to try that I was quite suspicious of, the door to our compartment opened. A blond boy that did not look much elder than us entered the compartment, followed by a red-haired girl with freckles.

"There you are, we've been looking for you." The girl said as she plopped down on the seat next to me.

"We've just been chatting with Su, here, she's joining Hogwarts too." Roxanne, ever polite, was the one who answered.

"Oh! Hi, Su, I am Molly, and that's Louis. We're second years. Nervous about which House you'll be in?"

She seemed quite friendly, (a trait that I was beginning to associate with all Weasleys), and I decided to be honest.

"I am more excited than anything, actually."

"You won't go to Slytherin, no Muggle-born ever goes there." Fred tried to comfort me. I didn't really care, but played along since it was clearly a valid concern for them.

Louis, who had been silent during the entire conversation, spoke up.

"Cool! You're Muggle-born? So you have eckeltricity in your home?"

I was amused by that. From what I'd read, Wizards do not care much about Muggles, even if that is a subject at Hogwarts. I didn't blame them. Magic was so fascinating.

"Electricity. And yes, we do have it. I wouldn't be able to survive without it."

"Why not?"

"Because it powers our appliances. Like a television, or a computer, or a simple toaster."

"What's a computer?"

"Erm, it is a device that helps you to communicate with other people and also in your own work. It's a very complicated device."

I had to stop my urge to tell him about all things that a computer could do, because that would have invited more questions, that I might not be able to answer, and because the other occupiers were looking bored.

"Thanks. I will probably ask you loads of stuff at Hogwarts. Aunt Hermione has forgotten everything after living so long in the Wizarding World."

"Sure."

After calming down their cousins a bit, Molly and Louis left our compartment to change.

"Boys, you need to leave now." said Roxanne in a strict voice.

They seemed to sense her strict tone, because they did not whine as much as I expected.

"Why can't you leave?"

I helped her out. "If I may recall, I was here first."

They faux-glared at me, but left.

No sooner did they close the door, Roxanne whipped her wand out and cast a Colloportus. I was impressed.

"You already know how to use magic?"

"Not much. Just a few useful spells. Do you?"

"I have gone through the books, but I haven't used any spell yet."

We dressed in silence. Her casual comment scared me as I didn't want to be behind my classmates. I didn't want her to think I was a pansy, so tried to act all casual.

"Do all kids with magical parents know as much as magic as you?"

"No, its against the rules. But my Dad was always a prankster and taught us kids a bit. So them Mom taught me a bit to be able to protect myself from Jed."

"Jed?"

"Oh, its the word we use to say James and Fred but are to lazy to say them out loud."

I chucked at that. "I take it they are quite the pranksters, then?"

"They definitely take after Dad, Uncle Fred and James Potter the first."

"Right. The first." I was having a bit of trouble remembering who was who, but then I realised she was talking about Harry Potter's father.

When we finished, Roxanne took the spell off the door, and the boys burst in. I raised an eyebrow at them.

„Don't worry, we weren't trying to get in." Fred told me with a cheeky smirk.

I didn't believe them, but let it go as I felt the train losing speed.

„We're here! At Hogwarts!" I said happily.

„Oh, I really want to be in Gryffindor!" Roxanne wailed. I tried to comfort her.

„You will be, I am sure of it."

„Thanks."

Fred wondered aloud.

„How do you think we get sorted?"

„I don't know, Teddy won't tell me! Uncle George keeps saying that we'll have to wrestle trolls."

I assumed Teddy was another cousin of theirs that I had forgotten to memorise.

„Don't believe Dad, I am sure he's wrong." Roxanne was ever the voice of reason. „What do you think, Su?"

„I am certain that we do not have to wrestle trolls. The Sorting Ceremony is very simple."

„So you know what will happen?" asked James.

„I am fairly certain that my guess is correct."

„Why don't you tell us?"

„I don't think I will. If your large family keeps it from you, it must be for a good reason."

Fred scoffed. „They just want us to sweat."

I smirked at that. „Maybe, so do I."

They gaped at me. Fred was the first to recover.

„If it wouldn't be us you were keeping in the dark, I think I might like you. You could even join the Disaster Duo?"

I was happy that at least Fred liked me.

„We aren't that, we're the Awesome Two-" James' grumbling was cut off.

The train came to a shuddering halt.

 _ **A/N** : I hope you didn't think the chapter was too long. Next stop, the Sorting!_


	3. The Sorting

_Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling._

Chapter 3 – The Sorting

„First years over here! Follow me please! First years!"

That was the first call I could register from the mass of students on the platform. When I looked from where the call was coming from, my mouth dropped open. A very large man, with bushy black hair, mustache and beard was waving his huge hands. I was a little frightened, but then I remembered that the person must be Professor Hagrid, the gamekeeper, and Care of Magical Creatures Professor. It seemed that the Weasleys already knew him, as I saw several elder redheads greet him, and the youngest ones stand in front of him.

I made my way through the crowd over to the Professor, and heard Roxanne speaking to him.

„Hello Hagrid! How have you been? How's Grawp?"

„'M alrigh' Roxy, same ol' me. Grawpy's grea' his English's improved 'summat. He can 'old conversation with McGonagall now!"

„Now that's something I'd love to see." James grinned at him mischieviously.

I was a bit confused as to who Grawp was and decided to ask Roxanne about it later.

„Come on now, we'll have 'ime to cha' later."

By then, all of the first years had gathered around Professor Hagrid, and seemed a bit frightened by his large presence. It seemed that he was used to it, however, and led to way to a shore. The lake was very dark in colour, and I was happy that the day had been cloud-free. There were ten wooden boats anchored, and we all watched as Hagrid got into the first one. He instructed us to get into the other ones, four to a boat.

The Weasleys took a boat with another boy whom it seemed they knew. I cursed inwardly for being a bit clingy, and got into another boat that only held three students. The boats started moving of their own accord, and to distract my increasing nervousness, I looked at my fellow passengers. One of them was a girl, who had darker skin than mine, and long black hair, with a slightly haughty look on her face. The other two were boys, a blond, and a brunette, who were talking amongst themselves.

„What's your name?" I asked the girl. She seemed surprised that I attempted to make conversation.

„Lucy Zabini."

The boys overheard us and smirked at her.

„Zabini? You mean we got into a boat with evil Death Eater spawn?" the blonde spoke up first.

I was shocked that he judged Lucy just my her parents name. Many families had been hurt by Death Eaters, and I understood that there was a lot of hate, but I found it a bit sad that it was passed on to the children.

„That's mean! She can't help who her parents are! You don't even know her."

Lucy looked at me, and I thought her eyes looked grateful, but her next words were not.

„I can defend myself. I don't need anybody to come to my aid."

„See? Evil." The blond smirked at me.

„Whatever." I shrugged it off, though I was a bit hurt, because I understood where she was coming from. Luckily, the blond seemed the only malicious one, as the brunette looked at Lucy a bit apprehensively before glancing apologetically at me. I decided to keep quiet for the rest of the journey.

Just then, the castle came into view. It was large and old and lit up in golden light. I saw several huge towers and couldn't believe I would be staying there for a large part of the following years.

„Beautiful." I whispered.

I was so caught up in admiring my new school, that I barely noticed us docking. Hagrid got out first and instucted us to do the same. He led us to a large hall where a very short bearded man was waiting for us.

„Thank you Hagrid, I shall take it from here." he said with a squeaky voice. Then, he addressed us.

„Good evening and Welcome to Hogwarts! I am Professor Flitwick and I shall be leading you through these doors where you will be sorted into a House. The four Houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. You will spend your time here in your House. Your merits will earn you points, and your mistakes can lose you points. At the end of the year, the House with most points will be awarded the House Cup. Now, wait here till I return."

With those words, Professor Flitwick left the hall. I looked at my fellow classmates. All of them seemed nervous. I did not fully understand the anxiety that comes with being sorted, but I could see the faces of the boys and girls around me and realised it was not a trivial fear. After 15 minutes, the Professor returned.

„Follow me."

Arranged in a loose line, we followed the Professor in to a large hall with a very high ceiling. I had read about the ceiling being enchanted, and was excited to see it in real life. There were four very long tables which I assumed were the House tables and one on a platform where all the teachers sat. Under the platform was an old Hat sitting on a stool, which confirmed my suspicions of what the ceremony was going to be.

„This is the Hogwarts Sorting Hat." As soon as that was announced, the Hat broke into a song about the four Houses and their merits. The Hat also told us that we just had to put it on and we would be sorted.

„I will call out your name in alphabetical order, and you will come up and put on the Hat." said Flitwick in his squeaky voice."

„Bates, John" A blond boy walked up to the stool and placed it on its head. After a second, the Hat cried out, „HUFFLEPUFF!"

The table to the middle left cheered and clapped as the boy took a seat next at the table.

The time flew in similar fashion, and the line of students dwindled.

„Hobbes, Daniel"

„SLYTHERIN!"

„Holkar, Sunita!"

I felt a whoop in my stomach at those words. Trying to show some confidence, I held my head high and walked up to the stool, ignoring the hundreds of eyes probably riveted on me. The Hat felt soft in my hands as I put it on.

„Hmm... you're difficult. Can be daring at times, quite smart, easily friendly too, hmm... but quite cunning... competitive...amitious...you'll make history, my dear... you better be in... SLYTHERIN!"

The hat shouted out the last part. I froze for a second, as even though I meant it when I said I didn't care which House, I never expected to be put in Slytherin. Then I remembered where I was, and heard the Slytherin House cheering. I quickly set down the Hat and walked to the table. The only thing I registered was the shocked faces of Fred, Roxanne and James.

As I sat down on the bench, I realised that the Slytherins probably won't cheer anymore when they find out I am a Muggle-born, though I sincerely hoped for a different reaction.

 _ **A/N:** Soo! Su has been sorted into Slytherin! What will her Housemates say when they find out? Read on._


	4. The Fallout

_Disclaimer: Nope, it ain't Miss JKR here!_

Chapter 4 – The Fallout

Professor McGonagall finally announced that we could eat. I was starving, even though I'd had a lot of sweets before in the train. Suddenly, food popped up the the tables and everyone began helping themselves. I took a minute to show some wonder on my face before composing myself.

All around me, the conversation started picking up. Many of the first-years knew each other, a result of the probably hours their parents had made them spend time together. While listening to them I deduced that the names of the other two girls in my year were Bea and Haily.

It was difficult for me to find something to eat, as I was a vegetarian, but I eventually settled on mashed potatoes and some green beans. Lucy, who was sitting next to me, was eyeing my choice of food.

„Why aren't you having any meat?"

„I am a vegetarian, actually."

„Why?"

„My parents decided to wait till I turned 18, and then let me make the decision for myself. They didn't want me to feel guilty for eating it if later I wanted to become a vegetarian."

„You mean 17."

I took a deep breath. _Here we go._

„You come of age at 18 in the Muggle world."

„But you're a witch, so its 17 for you. Shouldn't your mother or father know that?" She still seemed confused, and I realised I was going to have to say it out loud.

„No, my parents are Muggles, even though both my brother and I are magical."

She just stared at me for a minute. I thought that perhaps they weren't as prejudiced -

„What? You're a Mudblood? " Unfortunately, a boy who was also sorted heard me, and actually moved his plate away from me.

„I would prefer the term Muggle-born." I told him, trying to keep my voice calm and hide my anger. I wasn't one to not defend myself.I was dying to threaten him, but decided to save that for when I knew some good hexes.

A few others followed suit, including prefect who had welcomed me, and the girls in my year, Bea, Haily and Lucy. It was clear when they dragged Lucy with them that she wasn't really as opposed to me as the others were. Though I expected it, it still hurt to be alone. Lucy's reaction made me hope a little. I tried to act indifferent and hoped I was doing a good job with it.

During dinner, I caught Roxanne's eye. She seemed to feel sorry for me, but didn't return the smile I sent her way. Embarrassed, I looked down at my plate and thanked my brown skin that no-one would see the flush on my cheeks.

When we were done with dinner, McGonagall rose to give her speech.

„To our new students, Welcome to Hogwarts. To our returning students, welcome back. I would just like to remind you that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds for all students. Mr Filch would also like me to remind you that magic in the corridors is not allowed, and that the list of banned items has grown to include any new Weasley's Wizard Wheezes product that might have been released during this summer. Now, its time for bed. First-years, your Prefects will lead you to your dormitories."

There was a collective scaping noise as the students rose and made their way out of the Great Hall. The Prefects stood up and asked us to follow them.

While we were making our way to our dorms, I couldn't help but notice how big the castle was, and tried to memorise the way for tomorrow morning. There were so many paintings with live inhabitants and suits of armour that waved at us as we passed them, that I felt as if I was in a magical version of a museum. I noticed that we seemed to go lower and lower, into what I assumed were the dungeons.

Suddenly we stopped in front of a stone wall. The Prefects told us that we were required to say a password (which currently was Salazar) and the stone wall vanished, revealing a passage behind it. Upon following the passage, we reached a dungeon-like room with greenish lamps and chairs. It was cold, and a bit humid. There were many black and green sofas, dark wooden cupboards and tapestries. The Prefect told us that the common room extended till under the Black Lake, which explained the atmosphere.

I found myself really liking the cold, since I had always loved it. I remembered feeling a similar chill at my home using an air-conditioner. Merlin knew I needed it. My favourite colour was actually blue, but I still liked the green and black that was everywhere. Would the sofas be as comfortable as they looked? I would probably pick the one farthest from the large fireplace.

The Prefect captured my attention.

„The boys dormitories are down to the right, and the girls dormitories are to the left. Your trunks are already in your dorms. Now off to bed."

The four of us made our way downstairs. I had always slept with the window open as I loved fresh air, so the lack of them did make me a little apprehensive. I decided to ask a Professor the next day whether there was a spell for that.

Bea, Haily and Lucy were already talking about how they were finally at Hogwarts, though I noticed Lucy kept sending me looks. I decided to ignore them for now, and get ready for bed before thinking about winning them over.

When I was finished and sitting on my four-poster bed, I mulled around a bit whether I should wish them a good night. It would seem a little desperate, and I was sure that any other Slytherin wouldn't have said it, but I wanted to seem polite and non-hostile. After debating over it a little, I decided to go through with it.

„Good night." I even smiled a little bit.

Which turned out to be a mistake. Bea and Haily simply gave me disgusted looks, and I caught Lucy's eye for second before she looked away. I rolled my eyes and lied down. It was going to be a lonely next few months.

 _ **A/N** : Seems that the girls aren't very nice to Su, aren't they? Let's see what happens next! I think it might take a couple days till I update next, but I'll do my best! _

_PS: Today is the day that this story starts! 1st September 2016!_


	5. The Ground

Disclaimer: I am not JKR.

Chapter 5 – The Ground

The next morning I was awoken by my alarm clock ringing shrilly in my ear. I hastily shut it off so that it wouldn't wake my roommates, but it was too late.

„What the hell, Mudblood? Some of us are trying to sleep."

„Sorry." My face heated up at the insult, so I quickly turned entered the bathroom while adding a silencing spell to the list of spells that I needed to learn.

I scrutinized my reflection, searching for any thing that was different from the day before. But I didn't find any. I still had the same shoulder-length black hair, same dark brown eyes, same chocolate skin. I was still quite short and my stomach was poking out of my night shirt.

„Happy Birthday, Su." I whispered to myself, missing my family and our birthday tradition of breakfast in bed.

Wanting to avoid any more remarks and glances, I dressed quickly and headed to the Great Hall. It was empty, this early in the morning, but the food was bound to be fresh. Even the teachers hadn't had breakfast yet, I noticed while piling on some toast and jam on my plate. Since I was alone, I talked to myself.

„Ah.. look Su, get some toast and ask a Professor for a map of the castle. Wait... it's Unplottable, so does that mean a map can be made? Maybe, maybe not. Probably not. Okay, so don't ask a Professor, maybe a friendly Hufflepuff. That's my best option. Hmm.. so get to Charms, re-read the textbook while waiting for the other students. Sit in the front, so focus on Flitwick. Ignore the shakiness that will probably make itself known. If asked a question, answer correctly and do not let your voice shake. After classes, go outside, take your homework, and some dessert. Take your presents. Open your presents and celebrate your birthday!"

I loved talking my thoughts aloud as it gave me an oppurtunity to analyse them, and hear what I was thinking so I could check myself. Usually, I was surrounded by people, so I suppressed the urge and just went with the flow, but the current situation was giving me a lot of alone time.

I packed a few scones into a part of my bag and left the Great Hall, smiling at the people that I made eye-contact with, working on my mission Win Over Majority Of Hogwarts.

The halls of my school tricked me, so I walked around more than necessary, but I got the the Charms classroom in-time.

„Good morning everyone!" started Professor Flitwick in his squeaky voice. „Welcome to your very first Charms lesson! Today we shall be learning a simple spell, which is very useful and will come in handy while lefting objects. The Levitation Spell. Now, can anybody tell me what the incantation of the Levitation spell is?"

I hesitated to raise my hand, but when I noticed I wasn't the only one, decided to raise it anyway. Naturally, he had to pick the only Slytherin to raise their hand, as opposed to the numerous Ravenclaws that had.

„Yes, Miss -?"

„Holkar."

„Ah, Miss Holkar, yes?"

„Wingardium Leviosa."

„Correct. Take a point for Slytherin."

My face widened in a grin. Maybe my classmates would like me if I earn points for them.

The rest of the class passed smoothly. My feather rose into the air on my third try, a feat that I was very proud of. It wasn't Hermione Granger worthy, but it was better than most of my classmates, which was good enough for me. My hopes for acceptance were too high though, as nobody spared me a second glance on their way out. Being the slightly arrogant person that I was, I reassured myself that they were just jealous, but the words sounded phony even in my own mind.

I tried keeping my head down after that, only answering questions when asked and always sitting at the very back. My individualist part screamed that they shouldn't stop me, but I wasn't in the mood to listen to it.

Still following my self-made plan, I went outside and chose a tree to sit under, and unpacked everything I had brought. Deciding to work first, I finished the essay that we had to write for Potions, which Professor Slughorn assigned us. Then, I worked on my Herbology diagram, a subject that was already starting to bore me. When I was done with that, it was time to celebrate.

I had chosen a very tall tree that had low branches so I could be shielded from malicious eyes. There was a cool breeze and the Squid in the lake was idly splashing about. I decided that this birthday wasn't that bad after all.

My parents had given me my gifts yesterday as they were unsure about using Owl Post. I was really happy with my gifts. I recieved a couple of nice t-shirts and comfortable jeans, a pair of dangly earrings, and a waist halter for my wand. I was also please to find some of the Muggle novels that I had requested. The scones were a delicious addition to the evening.

It was getting chilly when I packed up to go have some dinner. Only one book was outside of the bag. Unfortunately, I saw a group of Slytherin boys whose name I couldn't remember come up to me. It seemed that the rumour had spread about me being Muggle-born.

„Hey, aren't you that Mudblood? Dunno what you're doing it our House."

I stared back at him defiantly, my wand forgotten. Another boy picked up my book and realised it was Muggle.

„These things have no place at Hogwarts, you little bitch." with those words, he threw it into the water.

„WHAT THE HELL?" I was furious. No-one touched my books. I completely disregarded the fact that I was outnumbered three-on-one and hit the offender right where it hurt most, the groin. As he crumpled, the leader got his wand out and aimed it at me. I only froze for a second before knocking it out of his hands and tried punching his face. However my luck ran out as I was shoved on the ground and kicked in the ribs. All the other presents and my textbooks were scattered around me. The boys left after that.

It was only my second day at Hogwarts, and I was already on the ground. On my birthday.

„Well, that went well." I muttered to myself, as I pushed myself up, ignoring my burning midriff. Luckily, my book floated to the shore, where I quickly picked it up and checked it for damages. It seemed that the water had only gotten to a few pages.

It was enough to make me groan as I leaned against the trunk of the tree. I usually didn't cry often, but my encounter with those bastards had made me angry enough to cry. So I let the tears fall. Not making a sound, but the stream of tears was endless. I cried for my shitty birthday, I cried because I missed my family, I cried because of me being in Slytherin. It was pathetic, and I hated myself for it, but I couldn't stop.

My appetite had waned, and I decided to just skip dinner and sleep early. I knew I would be sore the next day, but I wouldn't stay on the ground if I could help it. The burning in my ribs lessened as I gathered all my presents and focused on my comfortable bed.

 _ **A/N** : I decided to give the story a T rating because of the cursing and bullying. I might even increase it later if Su gets some action. ;-)._

 _PS: I share my birthday with Su!_


	6. The Apology

_Disclaimer: I am not JKR_

Chapter 6 – The Apology

The following months passed in a similar fashion. Everyone ignored me. The girls regularly insulted me. I was always bruised by my encounters with hateful Slytherins. I kept my head down in classes, only answering when asked. The grounds became my hideout to finish my homework. I spent a lot of time in the library, trying to learn useful spells. My magic grew much more that my classmates, but it wasn't enough to be left alone.

The constant anymosity I faced resulted into me being completely transformed. I tried to stand up to the bullies, but that simply resulted in more blows. The only thing that didn't change was the fact that I always used appearance charms to hide my bruises. It was a tiny spark of defiance that I managed to keep burning all those months. I often wondered if I should leave the school. But I was too stubborn for that. I would not lose.

James, Fred and Roxanne would be polite to me when we passed in the corridors, but whether that was because I was Muggle-born or because of our time on the train, I would never know.

Soon it was time for the Christmas holidays. I decided to stay and enjoy the castle being bully-free and use the extra time to stock up on some more defensive spells. Perhaps I would even find some new hiding places or learn some more secrets of Hogwarts.

To my apprehension, Lucy stayed behind as well. In the past few months, she hadn't uttered a single insult, but she hadn't stood up for me either. She always looked guilty when she looked at me, but I wasn't sure why.

On the first day of the Christmas holidays, I decided to stay in the common room. All Slytherins had families whom they returned to at Christmas, so I was exercising my right of using it without any bad looks or mean comments.

I was just reading up on the Furnunculus spell.

„Um... Sunita?"

I stiffened. That voice belonged to Lucy.

„I understand if you don't want to talk to me, but I'm really sorry."

That made me look up.

„What?"

„I am really sorry. I am fine that you're Muggle-born, but my family is prejudiced, and if I became friends with you, I would probably be disowned. Bea and Haily would tattle on me."

I looked at her in desbelief. Her excuse seemed valid enough, and I understood where she was coming from, but I was too mad at everyone to consider that.

„So you just let it all happen. No big deal, just a couple of insults, I can deal with that, right?"

„I'm sorry! That's why I didn't go home, so I had a chance to talk to you alone. Please hear me out."

I wasn't really in the mood to hear her out, but she sounded really sorry.

„Fine. Sit down."

„Look... I realised that I never really said thank you for defending me on our first day here, on the boat. At that time I was grateful and was about to thank you, but then I remembered my family and acted as any proper Slytherin would do. That night, the Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Hufflepuff. I asked it not to, fearing backlash from my family. When you got Sorted, I thought that we could be friends, as I really didn't want to be friends with Bea and Haily anymore. But they heard you say you were Muggle-born, and it all went downhill from there. I still really want to be your friend, and I am sorry for the behaviour of the girls. Please believe me."

I did. I believed her. But I wasn't ready to come out of my shell yet. And when I moved, I felt the burning pain in my body that reminded me of the bruises.

„I believe you." She looked relieved, „and I forgive you. But I can't forget. And I don't think you are ready to defy your parents yet. Are you?"

Her shifty silence was the answer I needed. „Then we can't be friends."

I got up and headed towards the exit, but hesitated when a backwards glance showed me her sad expression. „Yet."

That day, I did a lot of thinking. It was obvious that however remorseful she felt for her passiveness, Lucy couldn't be my friend till she was brave enough to do so openly. And judging by the time it took her to apologize, it was going to take a lot longer. But I felt sad. I knew that I needed a friend. Desperately.

So I continued as usual. Did well in class, practiced defensive and offensive magic on Slytherins and a few Gryffindors, spent large amounts of my day in the library, had my meals in solitude, got pranked, and had lengthy conversations with myself. But something changed. I was slightly happier than before, and even complemented James and Fred on a prank once that targeted the offending group. I was waiting.

 _ **A/N:** Sorry for the very short chapter, the next one will be longer, I hope. Since I am not atctually eleven, I shall be skipping the next three years and continue to a more relatable time. Beginning of Fourth Year. Any important moments will be shown in flashbacks as the story progresses. Thats all!_


	7. The Friendship

_Disclaimer: I am not JKR_

Chapter 7 – The Friendship

The slight jerk I felt told me that the Hogwarts Express had started moving. Dev, my brother, shot off looking for his friends' compartment. I had my own friends to look for. As I moved through the train, I saw several faces I knew, but the ones I were looking for eluded me. Finally near the back of the train, I saw a familiar black-haired, green eyed boy, who was talking to a blonde, grey-eyed one.

I smiled at my best friends. It was good to see them.

The compartment was empty save for them.

„Hi Al, Hi Scorp! How are things?"

They looked up and grinned back at me.

„Su! How was your summer?" Albus Potter asked me.

„Pretty good. I fought a lot less with Dev. I met with my orthodontist. He said I might get them off soon!"

My parents had gotten me Muggle braces in the summer before Second Year. I didn't really mind then, but it had been fodder for the bullies.

„That's great! Come on sit down." said Scorpius Malfoy.

As I smiled at their faces, I was reminded at how I befriended them. It was a sad tale, but it had resulted in our friendship.

 _Flashback: September 2017_

 _I was on my way back from the grounds when I heard the dreaded group laughing in the distance. They seemed to have found another first-year to terrorize. I knew that it would probably be painful, but I didn't want another kid to end up like me._

 _When I rounded the corner, I saw a black-haired boy on the ground, who was semi-conscious. Kneeling next to him was a blond one. He was shouting at the boys._

„ _What have you done! He didn't do anything!"_

„ _His family are blood traitors, Malfoy. You should know. Our fathers are in prison because of his father."_

„ _That's not his fault."_

„ _Look at that. You're defending him. Seems that we have another blood traitor to our midst."_

 _One of them raised his hand to strike the boy, but I called out._

„ _Stop it! You're going to beat him up too? They're just kids, Dickhead."_

 _The boy turned to me with unbridled rage._

„ _You! Its all your fault. You started it and now such scum is ruining our House."_

„ _Shut up!" I was pushing it._

„ _Shut up? You know better than that, Mudblood. Clearly you haven't learnt."_

 _His fist aimed a punch at my face, but I dodged it. The third boy raised his wand, but I blocked it and cast a Full Body-Bind on him. As I turned, the last boy's right hook caught me in the jaw, and I was on the ground. Again. I couldn't help but feel terrible. All that practice, and they still bested me. I clearly needed more._

 _Luckily they left after that. The Malfoy kid helped me sit up._

„ _Are you alright?"_

„ _Just peachy." I said, wiping the blood from my mouth. „That'll leave a bruise. Why did they get you?"_

 _By then, the boy was awake and sitting up. I recognised him as Albus Potter, James's younger brother who got sorted into Slytherin._

„ _Ah. I see. Well, we're going to have to work on this."_

„ _Thank you for helping us. Did they get you too?" He asked me._

„ _Last year they did. See, I am a Muggle-born in their House, that's the worst thing possible for them."_

„ _I'm sorry."_

 _He looked pretty bad._

„ _It's alright. Here, let me get you." I fixed his swollen face, broken nose and large bruises._

„ _You look like you've done this before."_

„ _Only for myself. I never let the bruises show. Hurt like hell, but I can't deal with the satisfaction on their faces if they see me."_

 _The Malfoy kid finally said something._

„ _This is terrible. It has to stop. We should tell someone."_

 _I was happy to hear that he wasn't like his Housemates._

„ _No. We settle this ourselves. I spent whole of last year learning spells and hexes. I will keep on learning them. One day, I'll get them so bad, they won't dare to come after me anymore. I have gotten pretty good, but not good enough to best them 4-on-1."_

„ _We'll help you." He replied immediatly._

„ _Are you sure? Associating with me will cause isolation and similar treatment for you."_

 _Now it was Albus's turn to speak up._

„ _We're sure. People died to stop this. So will we."_

 _I smiled a little at those words._

„ _Alright. I'm Su Holkar."_

„ _Scorpius Malfoy."_

„ _Al Potter."_

„ _Well we all seem to have another thing in common: unusual names."_

 _Scorpius snorted. „Wait till you hear my middle name._ Hyperion _."_

 _I stared at him in disbelief. Surely no-one would name their child Scorpius Hyperion?_

 _End of Flashback_

„Earth to Su. Did you listen to a word I was saying?" The unfortunate child in question was looking at me.

„What? Sorry, I just zoned out."

„That's what I thought."

„I was remembering the moment we first met."

„Oh. Well, all's well that ends well."

I smiled at that. I had come a long way from the bubbly eleven year old who had befriended Fred and James and Roxanne, and later from the quiet, lonely 12-year-old who hid her bruises. With the help of Albus and Scorpius, I had come quite close to my normal self, so my brother never found out what happened to me. I hadn't been surprised last year when he got sorted to Gryffindor. Now Al and I both had brothers in Grffindor, which made the three of us frequent visitors to the Gryffindor table. Rose Weasley, Al's cousin who was in the same year as him, was originally his best friend, but the Sorting had drifted them apart. I had eventually taken her place, even though I was a year older.

Al very happy about one thing in particular.

„We can come with you to Hogsmeade this year!"

„That'll be cool. It's so boring to go alone."

„Don't you meet Lucy there?" They knew almost all my secrets.

„Very rarely. Bea and Haily usually take her with them. If she lies and they catch her, she'll be busted for sure."

„That's sad. Thank Merlin my dad isn't like that. I still have to meet others though."

Draco Malfoy was completely reformed and hadn't had a problem with Scorpius being the best friend of an older Muggle-born witch. Luckily, as I didn't know where I'd be without my boys.

 _ **A/N:** Time Jump! To be clear, all Su's problems haven't been resolved. The ones that have will be explained later. Hope you don't mind the format!_


	8. The Prank

_Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling_

Chapter 8 – The Prank

The next morning was my 15th birthday. I woke up early, as usual and made my way to the bathroom. I stood in front of the mirror, as had become my borthday tradtion, and observed the changes in my physical appearance. My short hair was longer now, and the bushy mop fell to my shoulders. I had filled out, was a bit taller. Not perfect though. My flabby stomach was still present and noticeable. I was a bit rounder than normal, and my face was oval. I had long lashes, a baby-nose and full lips. My dimple was even deeper. Hair had started to grow on other places, but I wasn't to bothered. Too lazy too remove it. It wasn't pretty, but atleast I was a slightly chubby normal human. When I was done, I got out and went to the common shower.

My first present was waiting for me there.

„Happy Birthday, Su!" It was Lucy.

I smiled at her. „Thanks! Why are you up so early?"

„I wanted to wish you before the others wake. And I have a present for you."

I was surprised at her taking an initiative to get me a present, but hid it.

„Awesome! What is it?"

„I want to be friends. Officially."

I was ecstatic that she finally got enough courage to stand up to her family and friends. But my Slytherin instincts told me to tone it down.

„Really? You're ready?"

„Yes. If anybody else can't deal with that, fuck them."

I smiled at her. „Awesome. Now our little isolated trio will become a quartet!"

She seemed shocked for a minute, but I laughed at her.

„Just kidding. Come on, lets get my presents down."

Silently, we made our way back into our dorm, where Bea and Haily were asleep. There was a quite a large pile of presents on my bed, which I scooped up into my arms and carried to the Common room. Al and Scorp were waiting for me. As soon as the presents were out of my arms, They tackled me in a group hug.

„Happy Birthday, Su!"

„Thanks guys. Sorry, but you weren't the first ones to wish me this year."

Al pouted. „I told you not to open anything without us."

„I didn't. It was Lucy." I gestured to her, who had been standing silently all this time. „She's ready."

It was a testament to my close bond with the boys that they immediatly understood what I was trying to say. Scorp turned to her.

„That's great. I know it can be hard."

Al took the mischievious route, that I was pretty sure he got from his mother.

„Welcome, Lucy Zabini, to the Slytherin misfits. You may finish the initiation process by taking an Unbreakable Vow and pledging your loyalty for all eternity."

She looked really scared.

„Stop it Al, you'll scare her away." I turned to her. „Don't worry, there is nothing of that sort that you have to do."

„Except endure eternal isolation from your Housemates."

Lucy looked at me, expecting me to contradict Al's statement, but I shrugged.

„Can't argue with that."

Scorp decided to intervene.

„Enough chitchat. Let's open your presents!"

I agreed. As I sat there, surrounded by my friends, opening my large pile of presents, I remembered how horrible my first birthday at Hogwarts had been, and how much had changed since then. It was a relief that I didn't have to suffer through all my years here.

Al gifted me a photo frame of the three of us, which I absolutely loved. Scorp's present was a book on Cleanliness Charms, which I really needed. Other than those, my parents gifted me a Music player filled with Muggle music that was enhanced to work at Hogwarts, Dev gave me a few Muggle books that I was dying to read, both sets of grandparents got me clothes, Lucy also gave me a bottle of potion that would my hair look freshly shampooed everyday, and a gift box that when I opened turned my hair scarlet and eyes golden.

„Al, did you tell James it was my birthday today?"

He looked at me sheepishly. „Erm... he might have overheard me asking Mom for stores where I can get the photo framed."

I sighed. James and Fred could never pass an oppurtunity to prank a Slytherin.

„This prank has backfired on him. I always wanted red hair, and some interesting coloured eyes."

Al, Scorp and Lucy laughed. It was time to get revenge.

„Come on, I am hungry, let's get breakfast."

I banished my presents to my dorm and headed towards the Great Hall with Al, Scorp and Lucy. She looked nervous, and I didn't blame her.

„Lucy, are you sure you want to do this?"

She took a deep breath, but answered in a steady voice.

„I'm sure. I can do this. I don't care about being a Blood Traitor. It didn't harm the Weasley, so it won't harm me."

I spotted a few flaws in that theory, but let it slide. Her answer made my proud.

Since we were opening my gifts, I entered the Great Hall with everybody else, and was being laughed at for my ridiculous hair and eyes. Dev saw me and came up to me, only to stop short.

„Su, your hair is red!"

„Thank you brother dearest for pointing that out. How did I miss that?" was my dry reply.

He grinned.

„Ah, sis. The queen of sarcasm. Do you want me to get Fred and James?" His offer was sweet, but I declined.

„Nope. It's my birthday, I'm gonna take care of this myself."

I wanted to get revenge, but also divert the attention Lucy was getting for hanging aound me. I told Lucy and Scorp to get a seat, imploring him to look after her, and dragged Al and Dev with me towards the Grffindor table. Soon I stood in front of the boys, hands on my hips.

„Happy Bithday, Su! Wait... Freddie do you see what I see?"

„I think so Jamie. It can't be... can it?"

„I think it can. Her -"

„Eyes are golden."

„What? Oh. I was referring to the fact that her hair is scarlet."

„You're right? How didn't I notice?"

„Better yet... how did this happen?"

„I have no cl-"

I finally held up my hand to stop them. I put on my most charming smile and gave them a hug and a kiss on the cheek each. When I pulled away, they were red-faced and looked shocked. I wasn't done yet.

„Thank you soo much Jamie and Freddie for your amazing gift! I always wanted red hair. Brown hair is so boring. With red hair, I actually look like a Weasley!" I started babbling in a cheery voice.

„And golden eyes, aren't they beautiful? I look so pretty. It was definetly my favourite gift. Oh boys!" I cried, hugging them again. I brushed away some tears and grinned at them, before grabbing Al's hand, waving and taking my seat at the Slytherin table. He was looking shocked. Both Lucy and Scorp had their jaws hanging open as I continued with my breakfast as if nothing had happened.

„That. Was. Epic." Al recovered first. „Wow. Did you see the looks on their faces? That was _amazing_."

I simply smirked at him. „Don't look so surprised. There was a reason I was put in Slytherin, after all."

Once the other two picked their jaws off the table and congratulated me on my brilliance, it was time for me to start my classes. I bid goodbye to my boys and headed with Lucy towards Potions, our first class. What a wonderful way to start off my fourth year.

 _ **A/N:** Hope you liked some light-hearted fun! Am more busy now, so might only update once a week. That's all!_


	9. The Girls

_Disclaimer: I am not the wonderful JKR_

Chapter 9

That night in the Commom Room, Bea and Haily confronted Lucy. She was sitting with us and we were doing our homework.

„Oh, now you're friends with _them_?" Bea made a face when she referred to us. I wanted to speak up, but a glance from Lucy told me that she wanted to fight her own battle.

„Yes." Her face hardened. „Jealous?"

Haily snorted. „Like we'd ever be jealous of them."

„They're my friends. You aren't."

„We've known each other since birth, and you are throwing it all away by being friends with her."

„If anyone is ruining our friendship, it's you, as you are so ready to drop just because I made other friends. Stop being so old-fashioned and accept that the world has changed. Our blood shouldn't matter. It doesn't matter."

„Some things never change, Lucy. If you come back now, I won't tell Uncle Blaise."

„I am not coming back, Bea. I have made my decision."

„Fine." Her eyes flashed. „Get ready to be disowned."

They left after that. I turned to Lucy worriedly.

„They will really disown you?"

She looked slightly afraid. „I don't know. My parents are more reformed than Bea or Haily's parents, but they have a reputation to keep up and stay connected. So they will have to choose between family and connections."

„Your parents love you, Lucy, if they are reformed enough, they will choose you."

„I hope so."

I was finished with my homework, and so was Lucy.

„Al, Scor, is it okay if Lucy and I have some girl time now?"

„Yeah, sure, we still have to get some homework done anyway."

I dragged Lucy with me to our dorm. We plopped down on my bed, and she sank gracefully into hers. She looked like a princess, with her long straight blond hair, perfect feactures and beautiful curves. My eyes lingered on her before I remembered it's rude to stare.

„What did you mean with girl time?"

„Lucy, I haven't had any girl friends for the last few years. You are going to make up for it."

„Okay...?"

„So," I smirked at her. „Who's your crush?"

She looked at me in disbelief. „You want to talk boys?"

„Hey, I _am_ a girl."

„Didn't seem like it."

I rolled my eyes. „I haven't narrowed down the list to just boys, you know. I am fine if you like girls."

„I am straight, thank you very much."

I considered for a moment. I didn't want to scare her off, but I had to be honest with her now, in order to avoid a potentially larger blow-up later down the later.

„I am not."

Her eyes snapped to mine. I am not very good at reading eyes, so I hoped for the best.

„You're gay?" There was some strange emotion in her voice.

„No. I am not putting any labels to it yet, but I am bisexual. I haven't figured out which I like more, or if I like both equally. Like I said, no labels."

I kept my voice cheerful as I came out for the first time.

She kept looking at me weirdly, and I thought they glistened for a second before she hugged me tightly. I was shocked. Slytherins don't show emotions. Soon she pulled back.

„Er... I am guessing you aren't homophobic?"

„No, I am not. It's okay. Who else knows?" She smiled hugely at me.

I smiled back. I sensed more to the story, but didn't push it.

„You're the first one."

She looked surprised. „You haven't told Al and Scor?"

„I haven't said anything to anyone. They're just assuming I'm straight. If they ask outright, I won't lie."

„Sneaky."

„I didn't become the first Muggle-born Slytherin for nothing."

Her smile dropped a bit. „True."

„Look, Su, I'm really sorry I wasn't your friend before. I was scared. And stupid... will you forgive me?"

„I couldn't ask you to turn your back to everything you'd known till then, could I?"

„But do you forgive me?"

I contemplated for a while. No-one knew about the boys except Al, Scorp and Professor McGonagall and Professor Slughorn. „Yes."

She looked relieved. „Thanks. That means a lot."

„Let's get back to the original subject. Who's your crush?"

She laughed, a beautiful sound. I loved it when people laughed

„I haven't got any."

My right eyebrow rose. „Are you telling me that you've been living in a castle full of boys for the last three years and not a single one has caught your eye?"

Lucy laughed again. „Doesn't seem plausible does it?"

„Nope." I said, popping the 'p'.

„Okay, I have been looking at a certain Slytherin more than normal, but that's only because he's filled out lately."

„Let me guess, he's a quidditch player?"

„Yes, he is."

I groaned, „What's the deal with Quidditch players, anyway? They're sweaty and greasy and stinky."

„Hey, I happen to like John!"

„Bates? Hmm... He's not that bad. The best out of our House's year that you could have chosen."

She blushed. „Yeah. Not its your turn."

„I haven't really had any crushes."

„I quote 'Are you telling me that you've been living in a castle full of boys for the last three years and not a single one has caught your eye?'"

I laughed. „You got me. But mostly I find people attractive and likeable, not really a full blown crush. I am trying to analyze my instincts at the moment. And focus on studies."

She seemed put by that. „That actually makes sense."

I laughed again. I perfectly understood why girls loved this subject, but not having any input it started to bore me.

„Let's go back to Scorp and Al. I think they'll be done by now."

 _ **A/N:** If you're curious about how Su handles the bullies, you'll need some patience! I shall be developing another part of the story in the next chapters._


	10. The Letter

_Disclaimer: I am not JKR_

Chapter 10

The atmosphere was tense the next morning at breakfast. Bea and Haily undoubtedly would have written Lucy's parents, and their answer was sure to come.

„It'll be okay. Don't worry."

Lucy looked nervous. She was even paler than usual and kept playing with her food.

„You can't show them that they got to you. Act normal."

We were Slytherins, and we wouldn't be defeated easily. She nodded, and took a deep breath. But before she could say anything, a majestic owl dropped off a letter. To our relief, it wasn't a scarlet Howler.

Lucy picked it up, and ran out of the Great Hall. I turned to Al and Scorp.

„I am going to follow her. You come as well, but bring some food, okay?"

They barely nodded before I went racing after my friend. While I ran, I hoped fervently that Mr and Mrs Zabini wouldn't be too harsh on Lucy. I found her in our dormitory, holding the unopened letter in her hands. I went up to her and hugged her.

„It'll. Be. Fine." I panted, „let's open. It."

She looked at me, her gaze full of fear. I decided she needed that she wouldn't be able to do it. So I picked the letter out her hands and read it out loud.

„ _Dear Lucy,_

 _We have heard from Bea and Haily that you have befriended the Muggle-born girl from Slytherin, and the Potter boy. Your mother and I do not condone that decision, but we are not fully opposed to it. You must understand that we have a reputation to uphold, so publicly, we shall be opposed to your decision. As long as your friendship will not affect our social connections, you may continue your friendship. You are a clever girl, and if you really want them to be your friends, then so be it._

 _That is of course, our private opinion. Do not be surprised if we voice our dissaproval to our friends, and you shall help us by acting accordingly. We are sure you understand the reasons behind our decision._

 _With best regards,_

 _Father_ "

I looked at her face. She looked at me in disbelief.

„Wow. That was much better than I expected."

„They're not going to disown you!" I exclaimed brightly.

A faint smile was playing on her lips.

„No, they are not."

I grabbed something her hand and pulled her off the bed.

„Hey, what are doing?"

„You need to eat something, you didn't eat this morning!"

She laughed. „Ah, look at you, always looking out for my stomach."

„Well, that's what friends are for!"

Al and Scorp were waiting in the Common Room, dutifully carrying some sandwiches.

„So Su ordered you two to do the dirty work?" Lucy asked the boys.

Scorp shrugged. „Its Su. She is always ordering us guys around."

„You love it!"

Al looked at me. „It does wonders for our self esteem, you know."

I had a full-blown Slytherin smirk on my face."Oh I know."

Lucy shook her head at us while munching on her sandwiches.

„Wait, what was in the letter?" Scorp asked.

„In a nutshell, they are fine with privately, but will publicly condemn this friendship. She is supposed to act sad around others."

Al frowned. „That's okay, but I don't want Bea and Haily to feel victorious."

I clapped my hands together. „I have the perfect idea. Lucy has to act as if she is acting happy."

They just stared at me.

I sighed. „She can be happy and fine, but it has to seem fake to them. So they think that she is actually sad, but Slytherins don't show emotions!"

Lucy nodded slowly. „That makes sense. You are genius!"

„You know, I was almost put in Ravenclaw." I grinned at them.

„Figures. Seems you were too cunning for that."

„I am not sure whether to take that as a compliment or insult."

„That's up to you." Al laughed at me.

* * *

We spent the morning in the Common Room, celebrating the 'not-outright-disapproval' reaction from Lucy's parents. Then we broke up to attend our respective classes.

Al came up to me that afternoon while I was in the library. „Su, I want to hang out with Rose, but I don't want to go alone. Come with me?"

I felt bad for him. Rose had been his best friend for a long time.

„I don't want to leave Lucy and Scorpius alone."

„They can up with! I'll introduce them to Rose, and you can introduce Lucy to Dev!"

He looked up at me hopefully, and I knew I couldn't say no.

„Alright, let's get them."

We returned to our table, where we had gathered to do homework.

„Hey guys, would you mind spending time with us in the Gryffindor Common Room tonight?"

It wasn't Scorpius's first time, so he looked alright with it, but Lucy looked hesitant.

„I don't know, Su. The Weasleys are quite a family."

I laughed.

„Oh they are. But don't worry," I smirked, „I'll protect you from the big bad Gryffindors. I am equipped to handle them. The only thing you need it a whip and a ring of fire, and the lions will be tamed."

They stared at me.

„What? Didn't you get the circus reference?"

No reaction.

I sighed, „Has no-one chosen Muggle Studies?"

„You did?" Scorp asked.

„Ofcourse, I wanted to choose a subject I would ace anyway!"

Lucy grinned appreciatively. „Sneaky."

I grinned back, „Slytherinish."

„Moving on..." Al interjected.

„Right. So an evening with the lions?"

„Okay, we'll do it." Lucy replied, looking nervous again.

„Great! Let's go slither into the fiery pits of hell!"

„You don't have to be so dramatic." said Al.

„What's life without a bit of drama?" I said, throwing my arms into the air.

„It would be a lot simpler." I barely heard Lucy mutter it.

 _ **A/N** : I won't write much about the body language of the other characters, because Sunita is perceptive of other people that much. She is usually lost in her own world. Anyway, next chapter, some Snake-Lion bonding!_


	11. The Gryffindors

_Disclaimer: I am not JKR_

Chapter 11 – The Gryffindors

As the day came to a close, Scorpius and Lucy were getting nervous. They were justified, but I found it hilarious. It was a lion's den, and the lions liked eating snakes, but tonight, they would go vegetarian. Unless the temptation proved too much.

We were done with lessons, so Albus, Scorpius, Lucy and I stood outside the portrait hole. The Fat Lady was eyeing our Slytherin uniform suspiciously

„Al, how are we going to get in?" Scorp asked the question we all wanted to know.

„Rose is going to open it for us in," he looked at his watch, „3 minutes."

„Rose is such great. I like her a lot. A brilliant girl." I told Lucy. I couldn't reassure her, because I honestly did not know how they would mix.

„She is clever like Hermione Granger, and as funny as Ron Weasley." said Scorpius. We looked at him, confused, and he blushed and looked away. I felt a grin creeping on my face.

„That she is, Scorp, she is." I patted his back and smirked at him.

Lucy looked at me questioningly, and I mouthed ' _Later_ ' to her.

A creak informed us that the portait hole was open.

„Al! Hi! Come in!" Rose Weasley was looking at us.

We climbed in, and Rose led us to a corner. I looked around, enjoying the warmth of the Common Room.

„Wow, all of you came. Come on, now introduce me." She started, in her normal demanding tone.

„You know Scorp and Su. This is our friend Lucy."

Lucy held out her hand with a small smile on her face. Surprised, Rose shook it.

„Nice to meet you."

„Woah, that's way too formal! C'mere, give me a hug, Rosie!" I interrupted the awkward silence.

She laughed and hugged me. „Don't call me Rosie."

„Oh I will. It's more pleasing to say. And since I am elder than you, I can call you condescending nicknames."

Her face was amused as she muttered, „Damn Slytherins."

„And proud of it!"

„So, Rose, what's up?" Al asked his cousin.

„Nothing much, I was just doing some homework."

„Its our first week of classes." Al sighed.

„Well, it is important!" I cut in.

„See, Su gets it." She said. „Have you done your homework?"

„Better. I got these people to do it with me. It's not like we have any social obligations, so what's left for us to do?"

„I knew there is a reason I liked you."

„What reason to like whom?" James, Fred and Roxanne had noticed our presence.

„Well, if it isn't my favourite brother and his slithering friends."

Lucy looked offended, and looked to me for an explanation, but I was busy with a comeback.

„That's right James, be afraid. We can slither in your bed at night, or curl up in your locker, so I suggest you be on the lookout."

„Su H. The legendary Slytherin! How's it hanging?" said Fred.

„Quite alright now that you are talking to me after 4 days of radio silence."

I had talked to them on my birthday, ofcourse.

„You are a busy person. Hard to get hold of." said Fred.

I scowled mentally. Busy person, my ass. „But still pranked easily."

„You got us back really well. I almost fell off the bench laughing." said Roxanne.

„I didn't see that because I was busy savouring the looks on your face."

„How typical of you, Su, drooling over our faces." James was back.

„Who said the liquid that came out was drool?"

„Eww. Okay, enough." said Al. Scorpius, Lucy, Rose and Roxanne all had their faces screwed up in disgust.

Lucy spoke up for the first time. „I thought you said you get on well with the Gryffindors?"

„This is our way of getting along."

„And who are you? Wait, let me guess, another pureblood who's seen the light? Zabini, isn't it?" James never knew when to shut up.

„Shut up James, that was rude. She and Scorp are my friends."

The purebloods in question seemed mad by that insensitive comment. But now it was Fred who spoke up.

„I didn't see you with them your first year."

I was shocked. No one dared to mention that year to my face except the asshole bullies. I didn't even know that James and Fred had paid me any attention after the Sorting. It seems I was wrong.

„Piss off, alright. You don't know anything. You don't have the right to say anything. I didn't see you with me either then, so what makes you think you can judge her?"

I didn't know whether I was mad, or hurt or just defending Lucy who was looking guilty again. I just needed to leave the irritatingly hot Common Room. I stood up and made my way towards the Portrait Hole.

„Hey, sis, what are you doing here?"

I pushed past Dev without a word and walked out of the Common Room. My dorm was out of question, and I needed some fresh air, so I went to the top of the Astronomy Tower.

It was cold, but I didn't feel it. I closed my eyes, and tried to push away the memories. It didn't work. I was back there, three years ago, on the ground. My body hurt from all the bruises I had. I simply lay, looking at the stars. My mind was blank. My teeth were chattering, but I didn't notice. I got lost in the stars.

I was brought back to the present when I felt myself sit down on the roof. The ground was cold. The stars held my attention again. I tried to focus on the good memories.

* * *

 _First Year. Christmas Holidays. 2016._

 _The library was full of books. I loved the place. I was alone in the holidays. No undesirable people around. I was curled up in an armchair, reading about my favorite subject, Charms. There were so many different ones. The one that caught my attention was a colour changing one. I wasn't to difficult. I tried it, and to my delight was able to charm my hair green on my first try. I laughed out, something I hadn't done in a long time. I found the counter-spell. I was similarly successful. When I closed the book, I noticed the cover. It was a Transfiguration text-book for NEWT students. My elation grew. I was able to do such advanced magic! I couldn't stop smiling._

 _First Year. New Year. 2016/2017._

 _Professor McGonagall took all the students who stayed behind to the Astronomy Tower to see the fireworks. Including Lucy and me. I could see the entire night sky. We counted down together. Soon in was midnight. The elder students around me found a partner to kiss. I watched them, wondering whether I would ever find a person to kiss at midnight. We stayed up there for a little while. Everyone was talking about their New Year Resolutions. I cought Lucy's eye. She gave me a hesitant smile. I was caught up in the festive mood, and smiled back. It was a small step towards future friendship._

* * *

 _First Year. Last day at Hogwarts. 2017._

 _Professor Slughorn was handing out the results of the examination. I was very nervous. When he reached me, he smiled and said 'Congratulations'. I didn't relax even then. I looked down at my results._

 _Miss Sunita Holkar has recieved the grades of:_

 _Astronomy – 100%_

 _Charms – 100%_

 _Defence against the Dark Arts – 100%_

 _Herbology – 90%_

 _History of Magic – 95%_

 _Potions – 95%_

 _Transfiguration – 100%_

 _Average – 97%_

 _She has also been certified as an Acceptable flier._

 _I was so happy. I knew it was possible to get more than 100, but I was too lazy to work for bonus points, so I let that slide. My average wasn't too bad, and my parents would be very proud. They knew I wasn't athletic, so my flying prowess wouldn't upset them. Personally, I was very satisfied with my results. I could have danced, but Slytherins don't show emotions, so I simply allowed myself a small smile and headed towards the Hogwarts Express._

* * *

I was freezing, so I conjured up some portable flames and curled up around them. Reveling in my happy memories, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

 _ **A/N** : Sorry for the slightly late update, will be every Saturday or Friday from now on. Not much to say, except hope you like it! Please share your thoughts on the story!_


	12. The Rescue

_Disclaimer: I am not the Queen of the HP Fandom_

Chapter 12 – The Rescue

„Hey,wake up!"

I heard a voice the next morning, one I couldn't place. I didn't move.

„Wake up!"

I was shaken and slowly opened my eyes to find a girl kneeling over me. She was really beautiful, with chin-length red hair, freckles across her nose, and dark brown eyes. She was wearing Gryffindor colours and a Prefect badge.

„Hey. You need to go see Madam Pomfrey. You're frozen."

„Wh-Who a-a-are y-yo-you?" I sounded a bit rude through my chattering teeth and blue lips.

„I am Molly Weasley, a Gryffindor Prefect."

She helped me sit up. I stared into her eyes, confused.

„Ho-How did you find m-me?"

„Albus and Scorpius and that Slytherin girl were worried about you, so they had James check the Map. They figured I would be best to come get you, since you don't know me, and I am a Prefect."

„Nice to know they care." I didn't know why I sounded so bitter.

„Comeon, let's warm you up."

„No need to go to the Hospital Wing, I can do it."

I cast a few warming spells on myself and thawed my robes.

She looked at me. „Where did you learn that?"

I averted my eyes as I replied, „You don't want to know."

Once I was standing and warm, I turned to Molly, who was still there.

„Thanks for getting me. Is breakfast already over?"

„It's okay, breakfast is still on. We can go there together."

It puzzled me why she wanted to accompany me.

„No, it's fine, I want to have breakfast in the kitchens. You go on."

She didn't move. „You can't hide forever, you know."

I was grateful for her advice, but really just wanted to be alone.

„Do you know what happened last night? Why I was frozen at the Astronomy Tower?"

„No. They didn't tell me. But Roxanne was crying, and James and Fred were really upset. Your brother was asking Albus what was going on, but Albus wouldn't say."

I felt bad because I was slightly triumphant at them being worried. Serves them right. „Good. They deserve to be upset. You should really go have breakfast. Thanks again for getting me, but now I am in need of ice-cream."

I knew I was being rude, but was not in the most stable of mental conditions at that moment.

„Okay. Enjoy your ice-cream."

As she walked away, I felt a slight twinge of regret, and decided to apologize later. I really needed some comfort food. If I was honest with myself, I also needed some hugs and love, but I didn't have any body to do that. Lucy would feel guilty, Albus would be mad at James and Fred, Roxanne would be crying and sad, and I didn't want to burden Scorpius and Rose and Dev with my problems. My one chance was walking away from me. I wanted to swallow my pride and call out to her, but my pride was all I still had. But then, she had seen me half-frozen and curled up, what could be worse?

„Wait!" I cried out. Molly stopped and turned around. „Do you... do you want to... get some ice cream with me?" I asked in a small voice.

She smiled and said. „Yes."

Feeling quite relieved, I walked up to her.

„Sorry for being rude earlier. I didn't realize..."

„It's alright. I know how you're feeling."

I doubted that, but let it pass.

„Thank Merlin today's a Saturday." She tried to make some small talk.

„And that I have finished all my homework. You're in OWL year, right?"

„Yes, I am. It's quite exhausting. My elder sister, Lucy, she's in NEWT year, and she is brilliant like my dad, and she got 12 Outstandings, naturally, so you can imagine the pressure."

„I know, I have a younger brother, Dev, he's in Second Year, and I have to set a good example. My father is quite insistent on good grades."

„Do you know where the kitchens are?" Molly asked me as we walked.

„Yes, Albus told me."

„You seem pretty close."

„We are. Both of us are Slytherin outcasts, and we help each other out. But I am glad that he also has Scorpius, who is his age and also a boy."

„You don't feel excluded, do you?"

I didn't really like opening up, but I needed to. Molly was nice, and was listening to me. I trusted her.

„Sometimes," I admitted, „I used to. But not anymore."

She was silent for a while.

„Is it because of the Slytherin girl who was with you yesterday?"

„...sort of. I am not alone anymore, but sometimes there is a bit of distance between us. But I am old enough to realize that I probably won't find a person who can completely understand. No offense."

„Haven't you made friends with other Muggle-borns?"

I laughed hollowly. „They don't pay me attention, and don't really trust me, because I am a Slytherin. Though I am a Muggle-born, I must be foul if I was put into the snake-house."

„Don't say that. You are perfectly fine."

„I know that. It's the only thing that's kept me sane. I know that I don't have an evil heart. But that doesn't mean I am not proud to be a Slytherin. I love my house, and I think its cool, but people mistrust it because of some wizards giving us a bad reputation. I mean," my voice rose, „There have been good Slytherins, and bad wizards from other houses. Peter Pettigrew was a Gryffindor, and Professor Slughorn is a Slytherin. I think we can agree which one is the better wizard."

She was silent, and listened to me. I really needed to vent. It was wonderful to have a listening ear. At the end of my rant, we had reached the kitchens. I tickled the pear and entered the kitchen. At once, I was accosted by about a dozen House Elves.

„Miss Sunita, Miss Molly, can we get you anything?"

„Hello, how are you? Winky? Wanda? Ron?"

„Good, Miss Sunita."

„You know what? I...We are in need of some ice-cream. Do you have that tasty salted caramel flavoured one?"

„Ofcourse!"

Immediatly, two of them gave me a large bowl filled with my favourite ice-cream.

„Molly, what flavour do you want?"

„Lemon, please."

Soon we were settled on the long House tables, eating our ice-cream and talking about mundane everyday things.

„Tell me about your family."

„My parents are actually quite nice people. They only want whats best for me."

„But?"

„They have different methods. That leads to quite a few...disagreements. They were very proud when I got my letter, almost a year before I actually started school, and encouraged me to read as much as I can about what I would be studying and get a head start. But I actually bought books more about History and general knowledge, because I was fascinated with the magic itself, more so than my subjects."

I didn't tell her quite a lot about myself, but those weren't things that I would share with anyone. Like I a huge procrastinator, an excellent liar and deciever, and promoted a much better image of me than I was. I personally knew that those were the qualitites that got me sorted into Slytherin, but people didn't know that, so assumed that the hat made a mistake with me.

„It's your turn now. How is it being part of Britain's most well-known family?"

She groaned. „The attention from the press is horrible. The expectations and pressure to do great things is even worse. But I love my family. We are a lot of people, but always stick together, and have each other's backs. I love our family meetings, there is always some event that makes it memorable. With so many clashing personalities and fiery Weasleys, such a meeting is always fun."

„Do only family attend your meetings?"

„Oh no, partners and best friends are completely accepted into the family. We all know Scorpius well because he was allowed to stay with us for a week this summer and got to know him. Teddy and Victoire are engaged now, but Teddy was part of the family anyway. Dom is 19 now, and she always brings a boyfriend with her. To be honest, we are quite intimidating, and bringing someone with you is always a good way to weed out a the weak."

I laughed.

„That's how we knew Scorpius really valued Albus's friendship."

„I don't think Albus is the only Weasley that he cares about."

She was confused. „What?"

„I have a hunch... but don't really know for sure. Only time will tell."

„What hunch."

„I won't tell you know. Maybe after a while."

Just then, the door opened.

„Su! There you are!"

 _ **A/N**_ _: Sorry, for the mini-cliffhanger, I thought that this story needed something exciting. Any guesses as to who Su has a hunch about? I am not very subtle, so its pretty obvious, but guess anyway. That's it, hope you liked the new character!_


	13. The Quidditch Match

_Disclaimer: I am not JKR. This chapter was inspired by a Tumblr post._

Chapter 13 – The Quidditch Match

„Su! There you are!"

My head snapped to the entrance of kitchens. Albus and Scorpius were standing there, with relieved looks on their faces. Albus held a familiar piece of parchment in his that had fine lines of ink on it.

„Hey Al, Scorp."

„Hey, Albus, Scorpius." Molly greeted them as well.

„Oh, Mol, thanks for finding her. I thought I said to get her for breakfast?"

„Don't blame her, I didn't want to go. I wanted ice-cream, so we came here."

He smiled at me hesistantly. „Typical."

„I'm fine, Al, you can come closer. I won't bite. Where's Lucy?" I replied, amused.

„She is in the library. Sorry about James and Fred. They are just idiots."

„True. But Molly has already done that." I held the carton towards him, „Ice-cream?"

He and Scorpius came closer and sat down next to me.

„What flavour is it?" asked Scorpius.

„Salted caramel." Molly answered.

I smiled at her, my heart beating a little faster. She rose.

„I need to go to class now. See you around, Su, it was great to talk to you."

„Bye." My eyes followed her out of the kitchen.

Scorpius looked at me, concerned.

„Where were you last night?"

„Astronomy Tower. I thought you had James check the Map?"

„Actually, we stole it from him. Al wasn't too keen on talking to James after last night." Scorpius had gotten himself his own bowl of ice-cream.

„Are you going to the match today?"

„Yes, I am. I won't miss Quidditch, Al, you know me."

„Was it really that bad?" Scorpius asked quietly.

My face sobered, but I still smiled and answered in a cheerful voice.

„You weren't there Scorp, or you, Al. A fact that I am grateful for. You weren't there to see me wear long sleeves and tutrleneck sweaters to cover up the bruises. You didn't see spend days in the library searching for useful spells. You didn't see me use 'Episkey' over and over again to heal my broken nose, or skin. Or charm my skin back to its normal colour. You weren't there. You only saw the Su that hit back, who cursed, who taunted, who protected you. You didn't see the Su lying on the ground, ashamed of her tears, because she shouldn't be crying over those idiots. You didn't see eleven-year Su getting the best grades possible, because she didn't have anything to do, no friends to talk to."

„Didn't James, Fred or Roxy talk to you? Or Lucy?"

„James was a true Gryffindor, Al, he wasn't about to start hanging out with a Slytherin, now, was he? Fred and Roxanne were nice enough, smiling at me whenever we passed each other is the halls. Lucy had her own issues with her families, so she couldn't afford to defy them openly at that time. She was nice to me when alone, though. I think a lot of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were scared of me, I mean, a Muggle-born Slytherin must be especially evil, right?"

„Thanks for saving us that day. Now we are best friends, so you won't ever have to be alone again."

„True. When I met you, I pretended to be strong so that you could look up to me."

„No." said Scorpius, „you didn't have to pretend. You are the strongest person I know."

„Thanks, but the truth is, somewhere along pretending, I got a little stronger myself. All thanks to you guys."

„Come on, GROUP HUG!" cheered Albus as he engulfed both of us.

„Come on, let's go watch James show off while Slytherin tries to beat him."

„Oh, we will." said Scorpius.

I shook my head, but remained quiet. Our team was full of individual aspirations that hampered team-work and made us lose to the loyal and close-knit Gryffindor team. Even better players wouldn't save us in this case. But I didn't wan't to ruin the boys' mood by my theory.

* * *

The red and gold portion of the stadium cheered as another goal was scored by their star player, James Potter. The girls went wild at the sight of Hogwarts most famous boy flexed his muscles in triumph. I rolled my eyes. I knew how to spot a well-built person, but was smart enough to drool in private. The girls were just imflating his ego. Just then, the second most famous boy swooped down to high five the chaser. Fred Weasley had followed in his father and namesake's footsteps and become a beater. Personally, I preferred the latter's physique, as it wasn't too much, but still toned.

„Go SLYTHERIN!" Al's shout shook me from these thoughts about his cousin and brother. I thanked my lucky stars that he couldn't hear my thoughts.

The Gryffindor Muggle-borns were rallying and had started a cheer. „We will, We will, ROCK YOU!". They were clearly smirking. I rolled my eyes again. How clever. No Slytherin would understand the joke. All but one. They had forgotten about me.

It would stupid for me simply get up and yell. I wasn't some brave Gryffindor. Instead, I charmed my voice very loud, and made it appear disembodied, so no-one would guess who it was. When everything was set, I whispered quitely.

„WHO LET THE DOGS OUT? Who-who WHO LET THE DOGS OUT?"

The cheer was heard loudly around the whole stadium; even the players stopped, confused. Ever the opportunists, the Slytherin chasers used the confusion to score a goal. I smirked in satisfaction and cheered along with the rest of my house.

„Did you do that?" Scorpius was looking at me in awe. A few other students around heard him.

„Someone had to put them in their place, and since I was the only one who could, I did."

I saw respect on their faces for a few moments, before settling into the normal mask of disgust. But their eyes were hesitant. I jumped inwardly at the victory, no matter how small.

„Wicked! Where did you learn those spells?" Al was grinning mischieviously.

„I picked them up while reading in the library."

„You have to teach me! Next match, we'll blow their minds!"

„Sure!" I smiled at him. They hadn't noticed it, but I had scored a point that day.

„Su!"

I turned around, and saw Lucy standing next to me.

„I am sorry."

„You don't need to be anymore. I have already forgiven you. Come on, you just missed something awesome."

She settled down next to me. „It was you!"

„Who else? I am the only Muggle-born in Slytherin!"

„Oh, right. It _was_ awesome."

I grinned at her. „I know."

The game ended with the Gryffindor seeker catching the snitch. I groaned. It was close, but the Gryffindor was simply better.

* * *

James and Fred finally apologised after the match in the Grffyindor Common Room. Albus, Scorpius and Lucy had come with me to the victory party. I wanted to find my brother.

They came up to us as I was talking to Albus.

„Hey Su."

They were behind me.

„Good evening boys. Congratulations on the match." My tone was friendly, but not my usual teasing manner that I normally adopted with them.

„We're sorry. That was really shitty of us. We weren't thinking." It was Fred who spoke for both of them.

„It's not our place to judge her, we know. It just sort of -" James wasn't that good at apologies. I stopped him.

„I am giving you another chance. Mention anything like that once again, and you will find yourself at the recieving end of a very painful hex straight to your balls. Or perhaps a physical kick."

All boys except Fred flinched at the thought. „I will start wearing cups to protect myself then."

„Or you could just _not say_ anything."

„Eh, I like talking."

„We'll see about how you feel after your first kick to the balls.

„I doubt a girl like you will kick hard enough for me to feel anything."

I raised an eyebrow, „Oh?"

He kept smirking at me. Never to back down, I grasped his shoulders and shoved my knee up his legs. He crumpled intantly.

„Feel anything yet?"

James was laughing so hard tears were coming out of his eyes. Albus and Scorpius seemed unfazed. They were used to me, and knew better than to challenge me. Lucy looked shocked that I actually hurt Fred, but was grinning all the same.

Fred was trying not to groan on the ground. „Nope. Nothing."

I admitted to myself that his resilience was really attractive.

„Then why are you curled up on the floor in a fetal position?"

„The floor is really comfortable. You should try."

I snorted. „Nice tr-"

„I hate to break up your weird flirting, but Fred and I need to get some refreshments."

I rolled my eyes. „I wasn't flirting, James, but whatever."

He laughed as he dragged Fred away. „Defensive much?"

I gestured to the rest of my party. „Let's go find my brother."

Dev was surrounded by boys in his year, and they were excitedly discussing the match.

„Hey, Bro. What's up?"

„Hey, Su. Nothing much. Just talking about the match. And that Slytherin cheer! Who was _that_?"

„Who do think that was?"

„Aren't you the only Muggle-born in Slytherin? But you'd never do that, would you?"

I just kept smirking smugly.

„Merlin's pants! It _was_ you!"

„Don't you have a cool sister?"

„Definitely. So what's up?"

I sat down with my crew. „One thing after another. So, you know Albus and Scorpius, and this is Lucy, in my year who I befriended at the start of the year."

„Oh, hi! I am Dev."

„Yeah, nice to meet you."

They shook hands.

„I made friends with another Weasley today, Molly Weasley, your Prefect. She is cool."

„That's great!"

But naturally he asked the question. „So, what happened last night?"

„Nothing, really. I just remembered that I had to go get something in my dorm, and got lost on my way back. Molly was the one who found me."

Luckily he missed that I had told him about meeting Molly only today. Lucy gave me a weird look, but didn't say anything.

„So, get anything from mom and dad?"

„Nope. But I think I am gonna ask for a broom. I want to try out next year for the Quidditch team, so I need to practice this year."

I smiled at him affectionately. He was a very active kid, and it would be good for him to do some physical activity.

„Don't neglect your homework, though. Dad won't like it."

He groaned. „Come on, Su. I won't."

I laughed at patted him on the back. „Enjoy the party. Bye!"

„Bye!"

 _ **A/N**_ _: So, very long chapter. Hope some questions were answered. The small cheering idea is from Tumblr that I found to funny to let slip through my fingers. Early update because I will be travelling this weekend. Hope you liked it! Tell me what you think about the plot till now, and if the story is interesting enough to continue._


	14. The Sleepover

**A/N: Hi, I just noticed that I called Lucy, Lucy Haley, instead of Lucy Zabini. Sorry for the mistake! I have changed it now.**

 _Disclaimer: I am not JKR_

Chapter 14 -

The next few weeks passed quickly. Lucy and I grew closer.

My long-time competitor grade-wise, a Ravenclaw named Phil Turpin, was somehow getting even better grades than before, so I had to actually study a little more so as to not fall behind. Both of us were always competing to be top of the form, and I tried to get as many victories as possible. I had found some great methods of finding out his grade in an assignment in the past three years, but they were getting old. Sometimes I enlisted Lucy, Scorpius's or Al's help.

My ralationship with James was almost back normal. I could not hold grudges that long, and one simply could not stay mad at James for too long. He was too funny and charming to hate.

Roxannne hung out with me and Lucy at times. Around mid-October she had a great idea.

We were sitting on the grounds near the Black Lake and simply talking about random things.

„Su?"

„Yeah?"

„This Saturday night, the girls in my dorm are gonna go hang out with some Hufflepuffs. Do you want to have a sleepover?"

„Oh... That would be fun! What do you think?" I asked Lucy.

She thought about it for a while. „It's a great idea. I won't mind a night away from B and H."

„Who's B and H?"

„Bea and Haily. They are the other girls in our year. Wonderful. Okay, what time should we come over?"

„We can just go up after dinner. Maybe borrow the Map and get a midnight snack?"

„Oh, yeah. Some Salted Caramel ice-cream!" my eyes misted over.

Lucy and Roxanne laughed.

„Do you think Molly would join us?"

„Umm, I think so."

„Isn't she a prefect?" asked Lucy.

„Yes, but she pretty chill. Don't worry about that. All the stuck-up ness went to Lucy."

„Lucy Weasley? Our Headgirl?" I asked.

„She's her elder sister." said Roxanne.

„Oh, right."

It was decided. We would be meeting at the Gryffindor table and have dinner together and then head over to Gryffindor Tower. I was really excited to spend time together with Roxanne and Molly. Lucy was a really nice person, and I hoped she would get to know with Molly as well. Luckily, my fears were unfounded. We spent the evening laughing, giggling, eating unhealthy foods and teasing each other.

„So, no girls night is complete without boy talk. Every-one own to who they like. Or atleast find attractive. Then we will come up with a plan for that person to ask out the girl for the Christmas Ball." commanded Molly.

That's right. Hogwarts has Christmas Balls for all students in Fourth Year and above. Its held on the day before the holidays every year. It was introduced after the ball because of the popularity of the Yule Ball from Harry Potter's time.

When Lucy heard that, she blushed, a fact none of one missed.

„Looks like Lucy's going to go first!" said Molly.

She looked to me for help, but I shrugged. Weasleys simply don't take no for an answer.

„Er... well. You wouldn't know him."

„So its a him!" said Molly triumphantly.

We all looked at her. I was hoping for a miracle. That I wasn't the only one into girls.

„What? It could have been a girl. Some people bat for the other team. Some even for both." she said with a straight face.

„No, No, _I_ am not the one who's into girls too." she denied.

Brilliant. She practically outed me. I saw a light bulb go off in Roxanne and Molly's heads. They smiled at me. I smiled back. _  
_

Meanwhile, Lucy realised what she had said, and looked at me in horror. I smiled at her, reassuring it wasn't that bad. She still looked guilt-stricken, but I let it be.

„I might... have a _tiny_ crush... on John Bates from our house. He is the Slytherin seeker." She was trying to shift the attention to herself, and it was working. I smiled. I had gained a great friend in Lucy Zabini.

„The seeker? He is cute. And not much of a stupid Slytherin. He actually is a shoo-in for Prefect next year."

„Hey! Slytherins aren't stupid." Lucy and I protested.

„They are just ambitious and cunning." I said.

„Just kidding. You guys are OK."

„Gee thanks for that wonderful compliment."

„Ok, so Lucy fancies Bates, now Roxanne, who do you fancy?"

She blushed. „Frank Longbottom."

„Ooooh, lucky girl! I happen to know he is currently single and ready to woo a certain Gryffindor." I said.

„How do you know that?" asked Molly.

„I have my ways." I smirked. „Slytherin Superpowers."

Lucy giggled. „Exactly."

The truth was that I had noticed him staring at her during class and meal times in the Great Hall. It was pretty obvious. I was excited that she liked him. I had shipped them since I noticed Frank's crush.

„Who? Which girl?" she asked. Her face looked slightly upset.

I laughed. „You, silly."

„Really?" Roxanne squealed.

„Yeah, he has been crushing on you since forever! Practically the whole school knows."

„Great! So we just have to have them talk, maybe flirt, and wait for him to ask her to the Ball." Molly clapped her hands.

„Why doesn't she ask him?" I suggested.

„That's good, but Roxanne isn't that kind of person. She is shy, so he'll have to ask her first."

I glanced at the girl in question, who just staring into space with a blushing face.

„I agree."

I didn't want to be next.

„So, Molly, who do fancy?"

„I don't know. Nobody at the moment. Though I think I am attracted to Malcolm Jones in my year."

„Oooh, he is a Quidditch player. Beater isn't it?" I asked.

„Yeah. I caught him looking at me several times, and I guess he is sorta cute, and not too bad, so if he asks I won't say no."

„Hmm..."

„Well, Su is the only one left." Roxanne had finally snapped out of her daydreaming.

„Su flirts with Fred!" interrupted Lucy.

I threw a pillow at her as Molly and Roxanne wrinkled their noses.

„I don't flirt with that tosser."

„So what exactly were you doing when you were smirking at each other and raising eyebrows and all that stuff you do when you are together."

„It's just called being friendly." I was defiant.

„Look me in the eye and tell me you don't think he is hotter that James."

I looked Lucy in the eye, but had to tell the truth. „Fine! Fred is way hotter than James."

She smirked victoriously. Roxanne looked disgusted. „Ewww. Stop. That's my twin."

Molly was looking very entertained. „And what exactly is hotter about my dear cousin than my other cousin?"

I rolled my eyes. „James is too bulky for my tastes. And Fred is smarter. He comes up with all the pranks."

„I thought you don't like people smarter than you?" Roxanne was confused.

„I do, almost like a Ravenclaw, but I never said he was smarter than me, just smarter than James. It makes him hotter." I shrugged.

„You have the Weasley stamp of approval." said Roxanne.

I laughed. „What?"

„Ofcourse! You're awesome!"

„Thanks, but I really am focusing on studying at the moment."

Lucy rolled her eyes. „You have been focusing on studying ever since you stepped foot inside this castle."

"I am more prudish, actually. Maybe after OWLs."

The girls around me cheered. I laughed again. „Chill guys, it late, let's sleep."

They agreed and we went to bed. It had been a wonderful evening.

 _ **A/N** : Another chapter! A bit of estrogen in this one. There will be more guys in the next one, I think. _

_Hope you liked it! Please tell me what you think._

 _Update: I haven't access to a personal computer since a really long time, and I have absolutely no idea when I will. Please review and tell me if you want me to continue this story and if it's worth continuing and I will redouble... retriple my efforts to get a computer. Thanks for understanding!_


	15. The Deal

_Disclaimer: New Year, New Person, but that person is not the Queen, our dear JKR, unfortunately._

Chapter 15 - The Deal

I had a great time at that sleepover. Molly and Roxanne were very accommodating and the ice cream was downright _heavenly_. It was a few weeks later now, a Saturday morning. Al, Scorpius and Lucy slept in on weekends, but I still woke up, not wanting to break my habit of waking up early. Honestly I was quite grateful for the alone time I got. Naturally I was very grateful for my friends, but sometimes I needed some time alone. I had taken a Muggle novel with me to read.

While I was walking to the lake, I got hit by an inspiration and decided to go to read in the Quidditch stands. I was curious to see how it looked liked empty and wanted to enjoy the dawn from the highest seats possible. The climb did take my breath away quite literally, but it was worth it. Once at the top, I admired the spectacular view of the grounds and the castle, and opened my book.

While I was reading, a movement on the Quidditch field caught my eye. Another person had actually awoken this early it seemed… to exercise? Indeed, the boy was clad in sports gear, and had started stretching right in the middle of Quidditch Pitch. He hadn't seen me yet, so I enjoyed my view. I coudn't see very well (I had gotten glasses sometime last year) but the guy was clearly muscled. In fact his tank top was red, which meant that he was obviously a Gryffindor, and the fact that he was there meant he was on the Quidditch team. I didn't know any of the players really, except James and Fred, but both of them were too lazy to get up early in the morning.

After that, my book went unread and the boy proceeded to do some lunges facing away from me, allowing me to see his shapely ass. I sighed to myself. I really needed to find out who this person was. The boy was almost done when I started to slowly descend. As I went closer, I could recognise red hair and rather tanned skin, and brown eyes. It was Fred. I decided to scare him a little.

The chairs were great cover and I crouched and sneaked up to the Gryffindor. Once directly behind, I slapped his butt. He jumped violently, shrieked and spun around really fast.

"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

I burst out laughing.

"My Merlin, woman, you trying to kill me?" he panted as he held his heart.

I smirked. "You must be getting old if I could sneak up to you."

"Or you are more sneaky than I anticipated." It didn't take him long to regain his wits.

"I was just extracting my revenge." I glared for a moment before grinning. "So, what are doing up on a Saturday morning?"

"I could ask you the same."

My brain was not as quick as usual with a come-back as usual seeing as I might have been distracted by the shiny, muscled and sweaty body of the Beater.

"Oh, I was just reading. You?", I said, holding up my book.

"I come here every morning to train. I have never seen you before."

I shrugged. "Had an impulse." My eyes on his arms.

"Well it takes work to maintain a body like this, you know."

I didn't answer, just nodded distractedly.

"My eyes are up here, Su." He was smirking, I could tell by his voice.

My head snapped up. "I know."

"I never took you for a body-staring, eyes-ignoring kind of girl." Smirk still firmly in place.

My eyes stayed on his. "What kind of a girl did you take me as?"

It was his turn to shrug.

"Well, anyway, since I can't stare at my own body, I have to stare at yours." I didn't even attempt to deny I had been staring.

"You want some muscles too?"

"Not muscles exactly, just I wouldn't mind having a fitter body."

"You're plenty fit, Holkar." His eyes were still on mine.

I laughed. "You can't lure me into a broom closet that easily, Weasley."

"Pity." He dropped the smirk. "I actually meant I we could train together."

I thought about it. I was a good idea, and I could surprise my parents at Christmas or Easter. But I also knew me. I was lazy.

"Alright. But on one condition."

"What condition?" He was confused.

"I will be resistant to wake up early. Wake me up no matter what. I give you permission to do anything to get me out of bed. I have a habit of getting up at 6, but I think you were up earlier today?"

He grinned again. "Deal. I was up at 4:30."

I groaned, but my resolve was firm. I wanted to do this.

"I will also have to regulate your diet, you know."

I groaned again. "Fine, fine, do whatever you want. Just get me a healthy body."

He tipped his head. "At your service, Ma'am."

"Oh shut up."

* * *

I was eating breakfast at the Slytherin Table with Albus, Scorpius and Lucy.

"Where did you go today morning? I came by the lake to look for you." asked Lucy.

"Oh, just tried out a new spot."

She seemed puzzled, but luckily didn't ask me about the new spot. Somehow I didn't want them to know of my arrangement. I wanted to surprise them, or have them find out on their own.

"You love the lake!" protested Albus.

"I know, I did, I mean I still do… it's just… I was in the mood for something else today."

"O...kay." He was confused too. I told them everything. But he let it go.

As I was reaching for another toast, my hand burned as if I had touched something hot. I drew my hand back, and looked at it. It seemed unharmed. When I tried again, the same thing happened. As I looked up, I saw Fred at the Gryffindor table shaking his head. I immediately understood, and even though I was still hungry, I let it go.

Scorpius looked at me oddly. As I faced him, he raised a brow. I shrugged and mouthed 'full'. He nodded and went back to his breakfast.

My new regime had begun.

 _ **A/N**_ _: I still don't have a computer of my own, but decided I don't care anymore. I will try my best to upload every week. That is my New Year's Resolution. Happy New Year, and please tell me what you think!_


	16. The Workout

_Disclaimer: I am not JKR! I take only credit for my OCs._

Chapter 16 - The Workout

That night I went to bed early so I could be properly awake for training the next day. I had told Fred that he had to wake me up, and I wanted to know whether he could actually sneak into the 4th Slytherin girls dorm at 4:30 in the morning. Knowing him, he would manage it, but I was half-hoping he wouldn't so I could enjoy my sleep.

* * *

He did manage it. Tugs, shakes and whispers of my name made me aware of the fact that he was in my dorm. But I was too comfortable in my blankets to get up. I ignored him and snuggled deeper into my warm nest.

"Su, get up!"

I didn't.

"I will take away your blanket!"

That only made me grip it tighter.

But instead of the tug on the blanket I was expecting, I felt a huge splash of cold water on my face. My eyes flew open and I shot up, blinking the water out of my eyes.

"Bloody hell! That's how you wake me up?"

I glared at him. He was simply grinning.

"It was my last resort. Very effective, that. It worked even on James."

I groaned and reached for my glasses next to the bed, getting up. When I was standing, I put my hands on my hips.

"When I get back, you better have dried my stuff, Fred Weasley." I commanded, narrowing my eyes.

"I will. Now hurry up." He pushed me towards the bathroom.

I grumbled. Mornings always found me at my grumpiest. I hated leaving my bed before 6. Stupid Fred Weasley and stupid deal. I don't know why I agreed, anyway.

It was the mirror that answered me. I agreed to get rid of _that_. The layer of fat on my stomach. Unwanted, yet loved layer of fat. Shaking my head at last evening's foolishness, I brushed my teeth, tied my hair in a ponytail, and transfigured my nightclothes into a loose light blue T-shirt and some black leggings. I conjured some matching blue socks with them, and spruced up my old sports shoes that I'd never used at Hogwarts before. That's right, I can do NEWT level fabric magic. Sounds amazing, doesn't it? But I only learnt the spells because I hated shopping. I get bored to death at Muggle malls, and the sizes are never the same, so I decided to learn the spells to customize everything I owned. Much cheaper.

When I got out of the bathroom, Fred was sitting on my made bed.

I frowned, "You didn't have to make my bed."

He arched an eyebrow. "Thought you would be grateful."

"Well, I would if it didn't make it seem that you find me untidy.", I said, crossing my arms.

"You _are_ untidy."

I rolled my eyes. "I know that. Don't need you commenting on it."

"Why?", he asked, curious.

"My parents always wanted me to be tidy. I never was, and when I had to show my room to people I used to warn them about the untidiness. In India, it would be rude to comment on it. So they didn't, but I could still feel their disapproving gazes on my back. You making the bed is like you acting on your disapproval, not knowing that I like it better messy." I admitted.

He looked at me for a moment. "You like it better messy? Why?"

I shrugged. "Makes it feel lived in. I assume you are a total neat freak?"

He stood up. "A bit. More than James, obviously, but far less than Uncle Percy."

"Interesting. People seem to have the notion that girl's rooms are, and should be tidy, while boy's rooms can be messy because 'boys will be boys' and all that.", I observed, turning towards the door of my dorm.

He followed me. "That is true. Pity, seeing as we are clearly exceptions to that thought."

I nodded. "And I bet we aren't the only ones."

We descended the stairs and were now standing in the Common Room.

He turned to me. "Look, I would love to continue this discussion on society and gender norms with you, but we will be late if we don't hurry up."

"You're right. Let's go." My enthusiastic tone was the complete opposite of the pity party that was going on in full swing inside. My lazy self was dreading the exercise and sore muscles that I was sure to get from our planned activity. But somewhere, faintly, Sensible Su, was urging me on by sending me visions of the toned body that I would get. After a great struggle, by the time we reached the castle door, I decided to listen to Sensible Su.

Fred opened the castle doors and gestured for me to exit the castle.

"Ladies first."

I smiled at him and was struck by the beauty of the grounds before dawn. The air was fresh, the sky dark blue, not black anymore, and the moon was reflected in the silvery waters of the Black Lake.

"This is beautiful."

I felt him stand next to me. "It is. The sky matches your T-shirt."

Still silent, I nodded.

"Can I ask why your T-shirt and socks are blue? Don't you have any house pride?" I heard the smirk in his voice.

"Blue is my favorite colour. It's a very calm colour, the colour of the sky, the ocean." I didn't even get annoyed at him doubting my house pride.

"Has it always been blue? Because it's a Ravenclaw colour."

"It has always been blue." I hesitated, "but the fact that it is a Ravenclaw colour, and I have some Ravenclaw traits, makes me love it even more."

"Were you expecting to be sorted into Ravenclaw?"

"I wasn't expecting to be Sorted into Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, that's certain. Then I didn't care whether I went to Ravenclaw and Slytherin. I just...", my voice trailed off.

"Just what?"

"Nothing. It's not important.", I shook my head. Fred and I had never been particularly close, and I wasn't about to go spilling all my insecurities to him. The time for a long heart-to-heart would come, but now was not the moment. "Let's go get my muscles sore."

He laughed. "How?"

It was then that I realised the innuendo I made, and smiled. "By physical, clothed, exercise."

"Okay then."

Fred's teasing smirk vanished, and he adopted a serious, and gentle face.

"So, we are going to start by getting warmed up. I do that by jogging around the Lake, normally three rounds, but since it's your first time we'll only run one round."

I nodded. "Okay."

"Follow me." he said, and then strode towards the edge of the lake. As I followed him, I found out just how out of shape I was. The descent to the edge had me panting slightly, and the air was biting, attacking my lungs. But I sure as hell wasn't going to let Fred find out.

Once at the edge, he started to bend over and stretch his thighs and calves. I tried to copy him to the best of my ability, but the tips of my fingertips only reached till about half a foot of the ground, and they were left grasping at air. My back and calves started warming up slowly as we twisted and stretched our bodies to lose the stiffness from the cold.

Once sufficiently stretched, he turned to me.

"Let's start jogging now." he said.

Obediently, I fell into a moderate rhythm behind him. Fred was going really slowly, and I soon found myself surpassing him. He simply smiled at me as I passed him, even though I was smirking, feeling smug. The thrill of running overshadowed the building burn in my legs for about 5 minutes. Very soon, I was feeling my legs, and they were begging me to stop running. _No_ , said my pride, _You passed him, and you are going to stay in front of him, without stopping_. That shut 'em up for about 100 meter before they started complaining again. This time their voice was stronger, but my pride didn't give in just yet. Another 100 meters later, and it took all of my effort to put one step after another. I focused on my feet. Right, Left, Right, Left.

But that only worked for so long. By now my legs were screaming at me stop, joined by the pinch in my side, my panting lungs, and rapidly beating heart. My resolve weakened and I slowed to a walk. Just a few seconds later, Fred passed me, still going steady. He didn't look smug at all, a fact that impressed me.

"Walk for a while, and then start jogging again, but this time really slowly. About as slow as you can go." he instructed calmly, though his eyes hadn't really lost that mischievous sparkle.

I nodded, unable to speak just yet.

This time, he led, and I followed, at a pace just a tad faster than a walk. My feet were still killing me, but my lungs were working better, my heart rate slowed. The pinch in my side faded, albeit very slowly. I felt better, and was able to continue for about 500 meters. Then, I walked again, trying not to think about the huge circumference of the Lake. I was pretty tired already, and we had only covered about a fourth of the total distance.

* * *

It took me a long time, with a lot of coaxing to jog and stop walking, but I finally collapsed on the grass at the point where we started. Dawn was upon us, but the sun hadn't risen yet. I estimated it to be around 6 in the morning. I stared up at the golden canvas above me, wondering - not for the first time - why the hell I thought this was a good idea.

My view was impeded by a tan redhead.

"Get up, Su, we've got to stretch."

I glared at him. "I am not. Moving. Another. Inch."

He smiled. "If you don't, you'll be sore all day." he sang.

"I don't care!" I replied fiercely.

He sighed and finished his stretches alone before dropping down next to me. I thought he was exhausted it too, but then I felt hands squeezing my calves.

"What are you doing?" I asked curiously.

"Massaging your legs." was his reply. "You'll thank me later."

"I suppose." It was a wonderful feeling. "Thanks."

"No problem. You need to conserve your strength for the core exercises." he said, sounding highly amused.

"Core Exercises?" Oh Merlin. I was going to die today.

He stopped massaging my legs and stretched out a hand. "Yep."

I sighed and used the hand to pull myself upright. "Let's get on with it, then."

He started walking away from me. _Why can't he warn me before doing that?_

"Oi! Where are you going?" I called out, annoyed.

"Quidditch Pitch." he answered, without looking back.

I scrambled to catch up with the boy. "I have been meaning to ask you about that. Why do you do the rest of your exercises in the Pitch? Why not do them by the Lake?"

Since we were walking shoulder-to-shoulder, I could not see his face, but when he didn't answer I grabbed his hand and turned him to face me. "I asked you a question, Weasley." Just then I noticed the expression on his face. He looked a little irritated, and definitely defiant. _Definitely defiant_. Nice alliteration. I debated the chances of him telling me, and it didn't seem very likely as it looked personal and I didn't want to fight with him on our first day.

So I let him go and started walking again. I was so lost in thought about why he wouldn't tell me that I didn't see the root below me and tripped, falling straight to the ground. Luckily, my hands and knees broke my fall, but the reduced distance to the surface of the earth was far too familiar too me. I froze, paralysed, while the memories played in my brain again, like a roll of film on a constant loop.

 _\- the first time, on my birthday - a few weeks later, on my way back from the library - the time I hexed one of them for the first time - the time I defended Albus - the time they were drunk after a Quidditch victory party and left me limping for days…_

"Su?" Fred's confused voice snapped me out of my trance. I got up quickly, brushing off the earth from my palms and knees, feeling the heat rush to my face. I hated that they could still get to me after so long.

"I tripped." My voice was embarrassed, but also desperately hopeful that he didn't notice that I lingered longer than is normal.

No such luck.

His brown eyes bored into mine. "Why didn't you get up?" he asked, in a concerned voice. "Did you break something?"

"N-no, I'm fine." I rushed out, "just uh, saw an… an interesting… worm." _You're supposed to be a Slytherin, damn it! Can't even lie properly. Pathetic._

His eyebrows rose, "An interesting worm?"

"Yeah, but turned out to be a twig after all." _Much better. More believable._

"O...kay." He still seemed skeptical, but dropped it.

We were both silent, on our way to the Pitch. Lost in our own thoughts. The silence was slightly awkward, but not unpleasant.

When we reached the Pitch, I sensed a shift in us. We were back in familiar roles; that of the encouraging coach, and the lazy student. I realised that both us could fit in both roles just as easily.

"Okay, so we're doing 2 rounds of 8 abdominal crunches each, I am doing 4, and in between each round we have to hold in a pose for about 20 seconds."

I nodded and we got to work. He was certainly fast when he demonstrated, and I tried to be just as fast as him. But he shook his head.

"You'll only get tired. Go slow. Feel the pain in your stomach."

He was right. The pain was not piercing, but was building slowly. The best way to describe it was the feeling of stomach-gnawing hunger multiplied by 5. I had to take several breaks in the middle when I simply could not bear the pain anymore, and Fred was ever patient with me.

I would probably never say that to him, but was a great coach. He struck just the right balance between being helpful and not making me feel babied; between being more knowledgeable but never feeling like a teacher or superior to me. I was immensely grateful for that, for my ego wouldn't have handled it otherwise.

When we were finally done with that day's exercise, both of us dropped to the ground and lay down for about 10 minutes. He told me that it was a form of meditation, a way of cooling the body down, but I took it as an excuse to fall asleep. To be fair, like I told him when he teased me about it later, my body did fall into a trance, where my body was asleep, my heartbeat was slower, breathing was even, and only my mind wandered sluggishly. It was fairly close to full-blown sleep.

I would say my first day of training went fairly well. Now I just had to keep it a secret from Lucy, Al and Scorp.

* * *

Over the course of the following weeks, Fred and me established a routine. He would wake me up at half past four, we would run around the Lake, head to the Pitch for core exercises and refrain from eating fat later. It was working pretty well, even though I loathed waking up in the morning and would ignore Fred till he threatened cold water. I felt stronger and fitter, no longer tired from the constant walking around the castle to get to classes. I didn't look in the mirror much, even though it was more because I didn't have any time to. The occasional glance informed me I looked better too. My curves never went away, and there was a lingering softness on my torso which meant I didn't have any abs, but my arms and legs were bulkier. I even gained one or two inches of height.

Lucy, Al and Scorp didn't kick up a huge fuss when they found out, thankfully. I explained that I had the annoying habit of telling everybody whenever I started something and usually stopped very soon after. I wanted to make sure that this was long-term before I told my friends. They were a little put out, especially Albus, but came to terms with it after a week. Lucy teased me mercilessly that I got to train or 'lust' over who I considered the hottest Weasley, and that that was surely the reason I hadn't given it up by now.

When Christmas arrived, I decided to stay back at Hogwarts so I gave my parents a bigger surprise around Easter. The Weasleys, Potters and the Zabini left, of course, as it was tradition in their homes to gather all for Christmas. Scorpius was spending Christmas at the Potter's, and I was invited to do the same. However, I declined, eager to have Hogwarts to myself again, catching up on my reading, and taking a break from my exercising. My parents were terribly disappointed, and I felt guilty for not spending time with my family. Dev decided to stay as well, so they were mollified and decided to vacation to a sunny, warm place in Southern India.

I woke up on Christmas Eve, all alone in my dorm. It was a very pleasant feeling, like I was sharing some secret with Hogwarts. The House Elves had decorated the castle with holly and mistletoe sprigs, and well as red and green lights and banners. The decorations reminded me of my brother, and I decided to spend some time with him.

I was in the middle of a conversation with the Fat Lady when he exited the Tower.

"Sunita! What are you doing here?" he asked in pleasant surprise.

"Checking on my brother."

"Ah… I shall leave you to it then. See you at breakfast." he smiled innocently and ran.

"Very funny. Really hilarious!" I shouted at his retreating back. In a split second decision, I decided to follow him. What the heck? We were alone anyway.

I grinned at our childishness as we raced to the Great Hall in track pants and sweaters from home. Thanks to my new found sports, I was able to keep up with him easily, even being the first one to make it to the Gryffindor table. I smirked smugly while panting.

"How. Did. You. Do. That?" he panted.

"You. Under. Estimate. Me." I panted back, "How. Scand. Dalous."

"Let's. Eat. First." he gestured.

I nodded and we dove into the delicious food. The Hogwarts House Elves were the best cooks in the world, even though all Weasleys insisted that Mrs Weasley, their Gran, was the best. I disagreed. The scones, toast, cereal and pancakes tasted like straight-up heaven, and no ol' grannie could make them better, I was sure of it.

Once satiated, he asked me again.

"No seriously, you were never this sporty before."

"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. Have you ever considered that it's _you_ who is out of shape?" I smirked at him.

He scoffed. "I have been practising my flying for 3 months, and attended all Gryffindor Quidditch practices. The only way you could keep up was if… if you practised too."

"Is that such a preposterous idea?" I asked.

"But you're so lazy!" he exclaimed.

I sighed. "And you're rude. For your information, I have been practising."

His eyebrows shot up. "You want to join the team?"

"Why? Afraid of going up against me?" I asked, a small smile playing my lips.

"No. I know I am better than you." he grinned.

"We'll see, little brother. We'll see."

His grin dropped. "So, you _are_ joining the team."

"Nah, I am not into playing Quidditch." I was grinning now.

"I knew it!", he looked a little relieved, "I was afraid that I don't know you anymore!"

Those few words struck a chord with me. Dev and I had never been close in the classic sense of the word. We fought a lot growing up, shared in jokes, played with each other, discovered our magic together and comforted each other whenever my parents fought. I kept a lot from him, and I think he kept things from me, too. He admired me, always wanting to do everything I did and being hugely jealous when I left for Hogwarts. We made up when I brought him lots of souvenirs and taught him how to use his accidental magic. But since we were both at the boarding school we saw each other much lesser than we used to, and he grew into a handsome young boy without us noticing. We drifted apart, knowing less and less of each other, preferring to stick to our circles of friends. This year I realised that once I leave Hogwarts thing would be much worse, so we needed to spend more time together. But I didn't say anything.

"Don't worry. You will be the only Quidditch star in our family."

He grinned again. "So… what do you want to do? We today and tomorrow to spend with each other."

"Didn't any of your friends stay back?"

"No, they've all gone home except Xavier. His parent's have gone skiing." Xavier was another Muggleborn that Dev had made friends.

"So he's all alone? You don't want to neglect him, do you?" I didn't want him to ignore his friend, especially around Christmas time.

"No, no, he has an elder brother, Phil. He's here as well. He's in Ravenclaw, your year." Dev explained.

"Xavier is Phil Turpin's brother?" That peaked my interest. Phil Turpin, a quiet Ravenclaw from my year was my main competitor in terms of grades. And I had maybe harboured a tiny crush on him in Second Year.

"That's what I said. Do you know him?"

"Not really. We just really battle to be the best in our year." I shrugged.

"Oh. Okay."

We sat in silence for a while. I looked up at the teacher's table and smiled at Professor McGonagall, even though I was intimidated by that woman, and smiled much wider at Professor Flitwick and Professor Porter, our Muggle Studies teacher. Al, Scorp and even Dev were surprised when I chose Muggle Studies in Third Year. I loved the subject, mostly because I aced all my tests and because I found my teacher wonderful. It truly was fascinating to see the wizard's take on things I had taken for granted all my life. The only other Slytherins who had chosen the subject were John Bates, our Seeker, and his best friend Nick Carter. Bates was a pureblood with very liberal parents, and Carter was a half-blood.

Dev pulled me back to the present with his next question.

"So what _do_ you want to do today?"

"It hasn't snowed yet, so we can't go out. We could play Gobstones or chess, but that's boring. I don't want to listen to music, it has old music on it anyway, and I am not playing Quidditch with you." I ticked off.

Suddenly he had a wistful look on his face. "You know what I miss? TV." he sighed. "This would be a wonderful time for a _F.R.I.E.N.D.S._ or _Gilmore Girls_ marathon."

I clapped my hands, excited. "You're a genius! We can do that, why didn't I ever think?"

"What?"

"Come with me."

I ran out of the Great Hall, this time feeling full and pursued by a confused Dev. I was a little slower because of the food we had eaten, but was still up in the Owlery in no time.

"What are you doing?" he asked, irritated now.

"You'll see." was my cryptic reply. My wand was drawn and I conjured a piece of parchment and a Quill out of thin air. I grabbed them and started writing.

 _Dear Fred,_

 _I realise that you just left Hogwarts, but I wanted to place an express order for a device that will allow me to watch old episodes of Muggle TV shows at Hogwarts. Please tell me your Dad has invented something like that. If he has, can you also please send over all episodes of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Gilmore Girls? I will pay you later. Please send these ASAP, as me and my bro plan on having a Muggle Marathon._

 _Thanks in advance,_

 _Su_

 _PS: Don't worry, I will send you a proper long letter later._

I tacked on the postscript so he wouldn't be offended. Then I called out to my favorite Owl, Merida, and asked her to bring the letter to Fred.

Once she was flying away, I finally faced my impatient brother.

"I might have found a solution to what we can do today. But till then, we are going to the Gryffindor Common Room and chill there. You can hang out with Xavier, and maybe I will have a proper conversation with Phil, if he's there. Okay?"

"Yeah, fine, but what did you do?" he asked.

"It's my Christmas present to you." I said, even though the idea just popped into my head.

"Fine." he grumbled. "Don't tell me."

* * *

Talking to Phil was surprisingly pleasant. We spent around 2 hours together while Dev and Xavier did Merlin knows what and I waited for Fred's reply. I expected him to be rude, mean and snooty, and myself to be cold because of our rivalry. But he was really nice, friendly and made me laugh a lot. I learned a lot about him, and in return he learned some things about me. I enjoyed our conversation, but I was still ecstatic when Fred's package arrived.

Bidding goodbye to the tall brunettes, Dev and I decided to find an abandoned classroom for our marathon. I quickly arranged all the desks to the side, conjured mattresses, blankets and pillows which made a squishy camp. Then I opened Fred's gift. It turned out to be a small device with a slot for a USB drive, and had a small lens in front. On top was a stand to stick it to the ceiling and adjust the angle at which it hit the wall. I was truly amazed. George Weasley was a genius.

Fred had also sent a letter with the package.

 _Dear Su,_

 _You broke my heart! Here I was, so happy that you already missed me, and you only wanted something from me! I am scandalized. You better deliver that proper letter soon, and I might just consider continuing your training._

 _I am not giving you another Christmas present, so no need to pay._

 _Fred_

I laughed. He was so dramatic if he wanted to be.

We decided to start with _Gilmore Girls_. It was wonderful to watch Lorelai and Rory go about their drama and wonderful banter. Dev and I laughed, groaned and smiled nostalgically. We had really missed TV, one of the more pleasurable Muggle Inventions that did not have a parallel in the Wizarding World.

"Damn it, Dean, why do have to be such an arse?" Dev grumbled.

I smirked. "Told you Jess is better."

"Dean is better looking." he replied.

I had to agree. "Checkmate. That jaw... "

He laughed. "You are such a sucker for good looks."

"Hey! I am most certainly not!", I exclaimed in indignation.

He gave me a look. "Yes, you are."

I scoffed. "If I was, I would never have been able to keep my hands off practically every one of my friends."

"Hey, whatever you do or do not do with you friends is between you and them." he said, waggling his eyebrows.

"Okay!" I said loudly, "that is enough of this conversation. I want to watch Emily be hilarious."

He grinned in victory and we both returned our attentions to the moving images on the wall.

* * *

The rest of the christmas holidays was spent with my brother, reading, and talking some more to Phil. I got a load of gifts this year, from Roxanne, Molly, Lucy, Albus, Scorpius and from my parents. They were all mostly books, though Molly had given me a bottle of perfume. I was pretty happy with the haul, not the least because it was more than ever before.

New Year's Eve, all the Hogwarts professors invited the remaining students to the Astronomy Tower. It was beautiful, as usual, and this time more intriguing since I happened to be standing next to Phil at midnight. As the elder students paired off for a brief kiss, he looked at me slightly awkwardly. I smiled at him and kissed his cheek. When I pulled away, he was blushing furiously and had a huge grin on his face. I laughed at his reaction and moved to wish my brother a very Happy New Year.

The arrival of my friends was very highly anticipated, and the reunion felt wonderful. I had missed all of them, and as they regaled me with tales of their own, I vowed to go home the next Christmas.

* * *

One day in mid-February I was roaming the halls of Hogwarts when I bumped into Roxanne. Literally.

"Hey!" I greeted her, taking in her red cheeks and stupid grin on her face.

"Oh, hey, Su, how are you?" She looked really flustered.

I raised an eyebrow. "You saw me at breakfast."

"Oh...right." she said, flushing a deeper shade of red.

"Spit it out. Why are you blushing?" I decided to be blunt.

"Oh…ummm…" she stammered, and met my eye, "Frank asked me out to Hogsmeade."

I smiled widely, pleased. "That's wonderful."

She nodded mutely, as if unable to believe it herself.

"You said yes, I hope?"

"Of course I did!" she looked at me expectantly.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Aren't you going to ask me about it? How he did it?"

I smirked. "If you want to tell me. I wouldn't want to force out of you the details of how he pushed you against a wall, snogged you thoroughly, and then whispered the question in your ear, panting."

She looked mortified. "He didn't do that!"

I laughed. "Just kidding."

"He was very sweet, actually. He asked me share my notes from History of Magic, and then wrote it on the notes." She looked ridiculously charmed.

I smiled gently. "Well, if you're happy, then enjoy next Saturday."

We said goodbye and I continued down the corridor, deciding to keep this news from Fred, especially after James's reaction to Molly dating Malcolm Jones, and had seen Malcolm sporting a bloody eye. Molly had been furious, and refused to talk to James for weeks when he broke up with her. Fred was more composed than his counterpart of Jed, but I had a feeling he wouldn't take this lightly.

* * *

I was right. He didn't take the news lightly.

"What?" he growled, in a low dangerous voice.

Albus, Scorpius and I had been coincidentally crossed paths with Jed (James and Fred, in case you forgot) at the exact moment he noticed his sister hand-in-hand with Frank Longbottom, Jr. It clicked right away what was going to happen, and I sprinted to Fred.

"Fred!", I yelled, on may towards the fuming boy.

His head turned towards me, showed surprise for a moment, before remembering the source of his rage. I reached him 30 seconds later, just as he was about to walk towards the happy couple.

"Fred!" I put my hands on his chest. He didn't react, eyes fixed on something in the distance.

"You're being rude, you know. At least acknowledge I am talking to you." I quipped lightly.

He met my eyes. "You knew, didn't you."

"Look, I know you're mad…" I began, "even though I don't understand why. But, listen to me Frederick Weasley, you are _not_ going to go over there and spoil your sister's happiness."

He looked down. "I don't want her to get hurt.", he said in a voice filled with anguish.

"I know that," I replied softly, "I have a younger brother too, you know, and want to protect him from prejudice, and hate. But you can't lock her up and take away her happiness."

"Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, hurt.

"It wasn't my secret to tell. And I didn't want to betray her trust. Look, Fred, let's admit that you are one of Hogwart's biggest girl-magnets. And I am sure that you like them back too."

He raised his eyebrows, calmer. "And where exactly are you going with this conversation?"

"Some of the girls have brothers too, you know. Can you imagine their reactions to you?" I asked him.

I continued, "And you know Frank Longbottom very well. Do you honestly think he is going to intentionally going to do anything hurt Roxanne? He knows exactly how you Weasley boys are."

He half-smiled at that. My logic was foolproof. But I sensed hesitation.

"I have to do _something_."

I smirked widely. "I didn't say you should do nothing. But there is a time and place, my friend. And a limit." I added at the mischievous look that entered his eyes.

"Don't scare him off. Got it." he grinned, rubbing his hands together.

I decided it was safe to step away. "He grew up with you, I doubt you can intimidate him." I snorted.

"We'll see." He grinned one last time, and hurried into the Hogsmeade branch of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

I waited till he was out of sight, and did a little celebratory jiggle before catching sight of Albus and Scorpius' incredulous faces and laughing out loud.

I was truly crazy.

 _ **A/N**_ _: Pooh, that was a super long chapter. Hope to deliver more of these in the_ _near_ _future. Enjoy, and please tell me what you think! (which is a polite way of saying PLEASE REVIEW._


	17. The Party

_Disclaimer: I am not JKR._

 _ **A/N**_ _: Sorry 'bout this, but I forgot to warn you last chapter, that the time will be speeding up now. The leaps will be longer, up to a couple of months. It's because, well, school can get boring, and I don't want to bore you. I am continuing from when the exams are over._

Chapter 17 - The Party

The music thudded in my ears as I sipped some water from a paper cup. All around me were scenes of debauchery. Well, for our age, it was debauchery. Not that I was a prude, but I preferred privacy. Snogging couples occupied every corner available, couches were strewn with streamers, and some not-quite-dancing-but-more-like-grinding moves were rampant on the makeshift dance floor, a.k.a. the center of the room. The tables were pushed to the side where they had been used as a bar, offering punch, butterbeer, water (thankfully), and firewhiskey (for Sixth and Seventh years). It was the annual Gryffindor end-of-the-exams bash that was hosted by relieved Fifth years and nostalgic Seventh years.

Molly and Lucy were part of that years organisers, which led to firewhiskey and water being present at the bar. I was sitting on a couch with Al, Rose and Scorpius. The three of them seemed to be on their way to a better friendship, since Scorpius clearly fancied Rose, and Al was her cousin so had a lot to talk about with her. I had finally convinced Lucy to go off and find Bates (even though it was a Gryffindor party, all Houses were invited), and get to know him better. She had argued with me for a long time before before giving in with a huff, walking away and plastering a smile on her face.

I observed the students dancing without any inhibitions. James and Fred were there, naturally, with some girls from Ravenclaw. They seemed so free, and relaxed, it actually made me want to dance like that. But I couldn't. I'd just embarrass myself in front of almost all the population above Second Year.

I glanced at my friends, and saw Rose waving her hands in the air animatedly and Scorpius gazing at her in adoration. Al was looking at Scorpius, shaking his head with a small smile on his face as if to say ' _Can you be more obvious?_ '. I smiled at them.

I must say, it was interesting to see what my peers did in their free time. This was my first party, as even though I was old enough to attend last year, Al and Scorpius weren't and I didn't want to go alone. When I finally did decide go, I was...detained. That night resulted in a victory for me, but I still didn't like to think about it.

Lost in thought, I didn't notice Fred till he was right in front of me.

"Hey." he grinned at me, "Enjoying the party?"

"Well, I am sitting alone, drinking water out of a plastic cup and trying to think straight in-spite of the eardrum-shattering music so…" I paused, pretending to think, "Hell yes!"

He laughed. "Well we can do something about that. Dance with me." he suggested sticking out a hand.

I wrinkled my nose. "Please, what you are doing is not dancing. It's some sort of sexual gyration."

"Hey, relax, there are no strings attached. Just harmless fun." he rolled his eyes.

"Fun? With music, booze and hormones?"

"Come on. Dance with me. We don't have to 'gyrate'." he said, a slow smirk spreading over his face, "I could charm you with my gentlemanly ballroom trained moves."

I snorted. It was odd. Though I knew I probably shouldn't, a tiny rebellious voice inside was urging me on and dance with Fred.

Just then, the Muggle song _Side to Side_ started playing.

Well then, that was decided. I loved that song. But Fred seemed to think I would definitely not dance to that song, and was gobsmacked when I stood up.

"Fine. Let's dance. As long as I don't have to snog you later."

He grinned at me. "Deal."

"Good."

"Unless you changed your mind." he added.

I rolled my eyes but led us to the floor. The music was delightfully sinful, and I couldn't resist it. I closed my eyes, opened them, and moved. And how I moved. My arms flailed, my hips swung, and I attempted a sexy look on my face I had seen the girls have. I felt ridiculous, but strangely high. My blood mixed with adrenaline as I literally rocked my body. Fred seemed surprised at my behavior, and that only emboldened me. I let go of everything I as went closer to my partner, mimicking the sexual gyrations I had seen. Fred was shocked into silence.

It was only when the music stopped that I noticed the amount of space I had been using, the amount of space I _had_ to use. The multiple eyes fixed on me, part lust-filled and part envious told me that I had somehow been so good that I outshone the other people dancing. Lucy was staring at me with her mouth open, Bates next to her. Al, Rose and Scorpius were looking similarly shocked. Fred had wide eyes and half a smile on his face, while James was outright grinning. Molly looked impressed. I thanked my lucky stars my brother wasn't there at the party. I was really surprised at myself. The continued attention caused my face to heat up as I quickly got off the dance floor and walked towards Al.

Al silently handed me a glass of butterbeer and I downed it without hesitation. Merlin, what had gotten into me?

"I've never danced like that in front of other people before." I blurted out.

If it was possible, his eyes widened even more.

"You've done this before?"

"Well, in the shower, on when I am alone at home. I saw it in a few Muggle movies." I hurriedly explained.

"What Muggle movies? Cause I want to see them." came a voice behind me. I groaned, Fred and James had heard me.

I turned around, looked them straight in the eyes, and said,"You don't need to watch the movies anymore. You just got a compilation of everything that would interest you two first hand."

They laughed. Al looked disgruntled.

"Don't ever do something like that in front of me again." he complained.

Scorpius chimed in at that point. "I agree. You're like our elder sister."

I sighed. The night had gone on long enough. Roxanne and Frank were probably curled up somewhere, and Lucy seemed to really enjoy her time with Bates, so I decided to go to bed.

"Come on, Al, you ready to turn in?" I asked him.

He nodded.

Bidding goodbye to Scorpius, Rose, James and Fred, we made our way out of the portrait hole and to the dungeons. I still had to pack, and the Hogwarts Express left tomorrow early morning.

* * *

The next morning dawned bright and sunny. I woke up for the first time in months later than 4:30. I had even stayed for Easter, claiming I had to study, but wanting to postpone the surprise. I was surprised myself at my improvement. Muscles peeked out everywhere, my clothes needed to be enlarged, I could hold my own making three rounds of the Black Lake, and I could hold for 5 minutes in the 'plank'. As I sat up in my bed, feeling gloriously rested, a huge grin spread on my face imagining the looks on my parent's faces. Lazy Su had almost vanished by now.

I greeted Lucy and 'BandH' with a cheerful 'Good morning' while going through my daily motions. Lucy greeted me back while the other girls made no response at all.

I closed my trunk, adding the last-minute items like my nightclothes and toothbrush. From the bag of cookies I'd made for my family, I removed some and set them aside for the House-elves as a 'Thank You'.

Al and Scorpius were waiting in the Common Room as usual, their trunks in their hands.

" _Locomotor trunk_." I whispered, levitating all of our trunks and instructing them to follow us.

They shot me grateful looks and we made our way to the Entrance Hall.

"So… what got into you last night?" asked Scorpius.

I rolled my eyes. Typical of him to go straight to the point.

"I don't know." I answered, shrugging, "Just felt like dancing. Besides," I added with a smirk, "I am surprised you noticed me. Weren't you all wrapped up in Rose?"

He shot me an imperious look that could only have come from Lucius Malfoy himself.

"I wasn't wrapped up in her. We were just talking."

"Sure. I would recommend staying away from James and Fred once you ask her out." I said with a pointed look.

"What about me?" asked Al.

"Well, you know Scorpius, so I think you would easily come to the conclusion that he is probably the best for her. Besides, you are a Slytherin, you would stab Scorpius in the back, not threaten and intimidate him like those Lions."

Scorpius looked scared now seeing the thoughtful look on Al's face.

"Relax, Scorpius. She's just kidding." reassured Lucy.

"Am I?" I asked Al.

He shook his head slowly. "James and Fred will resort to threats for any Weasley or Potter girl. Just like they did with Roxy and Frank."

Fred had taken my advice to heart and cornered poor Frank Longbottom after his and Roxanne's Hogsmeade date and scared the wits out him. However, instead of running, he had gone up to them the next day and proclaimed they would not be able to intimidate him. He said they wouldn't dare to touch him again. When James had looked at him challengingly, the normally friendly Hufflepuff leant down and whispered something in his ear, that made James's face go white. Roxanne and Frank had been together ever since.

I tried to get the information out of Fred, what exactly Frank had said, but he said with his usual cocky smirk, "My lips are sealed. And they will be till someone opens them for me." Naturally, I did the obvious thing and stepped on his foot. His lips opened in a yelp, but he still wouldn't say a thing.

Just then, a horrified look dawned on Lucy's face as well.

"Oh no." she whispered, "you are going to have to deal with _Ron Weasley_."

I laughed out loud, but I was the only one. Scorpius went, if possible, even whiter, and Al cringed.

"What?" I asked, still amused, "he can't be that bad. He knows Scorpius."

"Uncle Ron tolerates Scorpius. But he hates Malfoys. I don't think he would be too pleased if his only daughter becomes a Malfoy." said Al.

"Okay!" exclaimed Scorpius, "enough of this! I haven't even asked her out yet! She doesn't like me back. Let's not get ahead of us."

My grin widened. "You're gonna be a Weasley."

He glared at me.

* * *

Fred, Roxanne and James were waiting for us in the Entrance Hall. We had agreed to meet there beforehand.

We grinned at each other.

"I can't believe another year at Hogwarts is over. It really seemed to fly past, didn't it?" sighed Roxanne.

I nodded. "This was definitely my best year at Hogwarts yet. Don't you agree boys?"

Al and Scorpius agreed. "So peaceful."

Roxanne and Fred made a face at that, but didn't say anything. I don't think they even realised how in sync they were. I always knew twins had special powers.

"This year was really great! We finally beat the Marauder's record of most detentions in a month!" added James excitedly.

Fred laughed as well. "Yeah, we finally did."

"Good job, Jed. The professors must love you now." said Roxanne.

"Why?" asked Lucy.

"Because they got so much work done!" I replied.

We all laughed, though Jed looked weirded out at the idea that their professors loved them.

"Professor McG loves you anyway, no matter how much trouble you cause." I commented.

"Oh no, she _hates_ us." said James.

I snorted. "Please. The woman loves you because you remind her of the Marauders."

James merely shrugged at that, and looked away. Fred looked uncomfortable as well.

"Not that, you know, that's the only reason she loves. I mean, you are good students, and know how to pull off a great prank, and are (unfortunately) great Quidditch players, and uh…" I rambled, feeling guilty of telling them that they reminded her of the Marauders. The Weasley kids were all very touchy about that, as they all want to be remembered in their own right, and not as descendants of other popular and heroic students. Even Scorpius and Lucy were touchy, though obviously for the opposite reason.

Roxanne stopped me with a look. "I think they get it."

"Right." an uncomfortable silence spread.

"So, let's go. We'll miss the train otherwise." interjected Lucy.

I nodded, relieved at the intervention. Together we made our way to the platform, our trunks floating behind us.

The scarlet gleaming engine looked inviting as usual as we climbed on to the train. Jed ran away to sit with their friends. Roxanne also looked at me apologetically as she followed them. We had decided that she should spend the first half of the journey with her friends, and could come over later.

Many compartments were already full, but we found an empty one near the end of the train. After directing our trunks to stow themselves in the overhead compartments, we settled ourselves into the seats. Al and I favored the window seats, with Lucy and Scorpius next to us.

We spent about an hour randomly chatting about our days and the party last night. The scenery outside gave me a strange sense of deja-vu. My mind drifted off to my first train journey home…

* * *

 _Flashback, Summer 2017_

 _Finally it was time to go home! I was terribly homesick and longed to meet all of my Muggle friends and my family. I had carefully avoided my tormentors the past few weeks so I didn't have to hide any bruises, and had memorised my stories of being friends with Lucy, and Bea and Hailey, and even being popular with the Weasleys._

 _It was all false, of-course, but if my parents ever caught wind of my loneliness and bullying, they would pull me out of the school and send me to Beauxbatons. However unfriendly it's inhabitants were, the castle and the classes themselves were warm and fascinating. Besides, leaving the school would make me a coward. I was no Gryffindor, but I had pride, which wouldn't allow me leaving._

 _I was so excited to be home, that I was one of the first ones on the train. I easily found myself an empty compartment. It stayed empty. I snorted. No other student would want to sit with me, Slytherin/Mudblood scum. At least Roxanne and Jed waved at me as they passed my solitary heaven._

 _Roxanne and Jed and I had had an interesting relationship the past year. They had been friendly enough, making the occasional small-talk and smiling at me when we met in the hallways, but they were too caught up in their own lives to actively seek me out. Why should they, anyway? I was just some girl that they had met on the train, who just happened to be the first Muggleborn Slytherin ever. I must have my own friends, my own clique, back in Slytherin, right? Or must have friends in the Muggle-born club of Hogwarts? I snorted again. Right. They were too busy being popular and smart, and athletically gifted to pay attention to some poor pathetic girl from Slytherin who had no friends. Sure, I could do lots of magic, but only because I had lots of free time to learn it and practise it._

 _I smiled to myself. I was going to have fantastic scores in my OWLs. Be top of the class. And again in my NEWTs. I am going to get the best job offers. Be the boss, while the others would be some normal workers. Be even Minister of Magic. The top British position. Or maybe an ambassador to a faraway country. Start afresh. Yes, I nodded to myself, that would be best._

 _Once the train started moving, I changed into some jeans and a tank top. Then my latest book, 'Murder on the Orient Express' by Agatha Christie was waiting be finished. It was turning out to be a very confusing case. I had a hunch, but I knew Poirot would not fail to surprise me._

* * *

Back in the present, our conversation had faded. I was looking out of the window, Scorpius was lost in thought, Lucy was sketching something, and Al was reading a book about Hogwarts.

Just then, the Trolley Witch arrived with her usual bustle.

"Anything from the Trolley, dears?" she asked in her motherly voice.

"Yes, please. I'd like some Licorice Wands." I spoke first.

Al looked up from his book. "5 Chocolate Frogs please." He loved chocolate.

"And some Every Flavour Beans for me please." requested Scorpius.

We all looked at Lucy. "Oh… nothing for me, thanks." she said, and got back to her sketching.

"Alright. That will be 3 Sickles and 8 Knuts."

We paid her, and she left. Not five minutes later our faces were smeared with sugary goodness.

* * *

 _I stared at my collection. My pocket money had built up the entire year, since I didn't go to Hogsmeade and wasn't particularly interested in something from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes._

 _My hoarding had led to me sitting in front of 10 Chocolate Frogs, 10 Licorice Wands, 3 packs of Every Flavour Beans, 1 pile of Cockroach Cluster (for my brother. hehehe), 5 Sugar Quills, and 2 Blood Lollipops. The Trolley Witch was not at all surprised at the amount of sweets I bought. In all her time at Hogwarts (150 years), I guess she must have seen quite some things._

 _I reached out and separated all the sweets into three piles: one to eat on the train, one for myself at home, and one for my family. I was eager to impress them with more Magic than me sprinkling water in my face out of nowhere, and my brother making the football curve right into the goal each time.  
_

 _They would be incredibly proud of me, that I was sure of. Though they were sworn to secrecy, knowing that their daughter was special and rare, and having it confirmed was amazing for them. They loved me, but sometimes I thought they were more in love with my magic._

* * *

Looking back on that last thought, I was ashamed. My parents loved me for whoever I am, and not because of my magic. But back then, I was in an incredibly dark place. I had found almost no kindness in my school, and had started to doubt everything around me, including my parent's love. My self-esteem was struggling. My only solace was my magic, and it's strength. That was the only thing I believed in. That my magic was strong, and it would always be strong. One day, maybe even stronger that 4 teenaged boys combined.

"We should get changed." Scorpius's voice shook me out of my reverie.

We nodded and Al and Scorpius went to the bathrooms. My Muggle clothing was simple. A pair of Jeans, and a purple blouse. I matched those with some blue dangly earrings and tan sandals. Lucy wore a silk dress, as was appropriate for a wealthy pureblood. She wouldn't pass the barrier, as she directly apparated away from the platform, so no Muggles could see her. She curled her blond hair into a low chignon.

I whistled. "Is _that_ really considered casual wear for you?" She looked regal, and hot.

"Yes. It is." she looked amused at my surprise.

"I can't imagine what's formal in your house. If you have an event, click a picture and show me, okay?"

She laughed, "Sure."

Just then, I remembered something. "Hey, Roxanne never came!"

She looked surprised too. "Huh. Her friends must have detained her."

"Yeah." I was a little disappointed that she didn't come. After all, we had made plans.

There was a knock on the door. Al and Scorpius were done.

I opened the door.

Al was the only other person surprised at Lucy's clothes.

"Blimey, Lucy, you look like a princess. You wear that everyday?"

Scorpius seemed nonplussed. "My mom wears that too. Doesn't your mom wear it?"

I snorted. "Please, Ginny Potter, former Quidditch Star and now Quidditch Correspondent of the Daily Prophet? I have a _hunch_ that she is more of a suit person."

"Oh, right."

"Did you memorize my mother's resume, Su? And how did you know she likes suits?" asked Al.

"I am a huge fan of your mom, didn't you know? She is the epitome of a leading lady. And you introduced me to her last year. On the platform? She was wearing a suit."

"I didn't know you were a huge fan of my mom!" he sounded shocked.

"Well, I didn't want to tell you, because then you would think I am only friends with you to get closer to her." I explained. "That sounds kinda creepy."

"Thanks...I guess."

The train started slowing down. We were at Platform 9 ¾.

* * *

My trunk levitating behind me again, I got off the train in my Muggle clothes. Lucy had already bid me goodbye on the train with lots of promises to write regularly, and now I was alone with my boys. I glimpsed my parents standing near the barrier and waved at them. They waved back.

Between me and them were 4 of the most famous people in all of Britain: Harry Potter (Head Auror and Saviour of the Wizarding World), Ginny Potter (Sports correspondent of the Daily Prophet, Former star chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, Ex-leader of Dumbledore's army, and long-time partner of Harry Potter), Hermione Granger-Weasley (Minister of Magic!, brains of the Golden Trio, founder of S.P.E.W., War Hero, Founder of Dumbledore's Army, brightest witch of her generation etc.) and Ron Weasley (Co-owner of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, Member of the Golden Trio, Ex-Auror etc). As usual, they were attracting quite a bit of attention. Standing with them were Scorpius's parents, Draco and Astoria Malfoy, and Fred and Roxanne's parents, George and Angelina Weasley.

There was so much fame attached in those people! I was already acquainted with the Potters and the Malfoys, my boys having introduced them to me last year.

When we reached them, there were lots of hugs.

"Al! How are you?" asked Ginny Potter.

"Fine, mum. You remember Su?" he said, gesturing toward me.

"Oh yes, your friend from India. I remember. Hi!" she smiled warmly at me.

Merlin. I was being greeted cheerfully by my hero. Internally I was in full fangirl-mode.

"Er… Hi! Mrs Potter." I said, keeping my voice carefully steady.

"Oh, don't call me that, it makes me feel so old." She protested, "Did you have a good year."

I nodded. "Oh, I had a great year."

"Hi!" Harry Potter was talking to me. Harry Potter was talking to me.

I barely managed a 'hello'. Thankfully, Jed and Roxanne chose that moment to arrive.

"Su! Sorry, I didn't come! Becky, Grace, Charlie and Annie guilt-tripped me into staying." Roxanne apologised immediately.

I was glad that she did that. "That's okay."

Seeing the reunions all around me, I decided to get on with my own.

"Okay, bye everybody, I see my parents!" I called out.

"Bye!" about 5 or 6 of those were thrown at me.

"Keep training!" reminded Fred.

"Oh, I will. I can't wait to see how my parents react." I grinned at him.

Giving one last wave, I hurried through the happy families and thick steam to my own.

* * *

" _Ana! Papa!" I exclaimed, delight filling my voice._

" _Papuli!" Their faces split into wide grins as they saw. The reached down and hugged me. I hung on, feeling safe in their arms. How wonderful it was to see them!_

" _Sunita!" my brother wriggled his way into the hug as well. I laughed._

" _You're so tall! What have you been doing?" I has amazed at how tall he was. I was fortunately still taller, but I knew it wouldn't be for much longer._

 _He shrugged. "Just football.", a huge smile spread on his face, "Tell me about Hogwarts!"_

 _My smile slipped a little, but I hitched it back up again, and began my tale. "I brought sweets for you! It's amazing! I have so much to tell you…"_

* * *

My parents hugged me tightly. When they let go, they looked at me so shocked.

"Su? What happened to you? You got so much thinner!"

Before I could answer, Dev arrived.

"She is doing some sort of sports." he explained as he hugged my parents too

"Sports?" my father looked pleased. "So you're not lazy anymore?" he grinned at me.

I smiled back. "Nope. One day I decided I needed to get into shape. And I did."

My mum reached down and whispered in my ear, "You look very good. Have you found a boyfriend?"

I giggled. "No, ofcourse not. Just wanted to surprise you."

"Well, I am certainly surprised." she told me.

"And Dev, you got taller than your sister!" remarked my father.

I scowled. Dev smirked. "Oh, I did."

That caused me to let out a petulant whine. "Only because he's training for Quidditch!"

My parents laughed at my childish antics and we made our way into the Muggle World.

"Did you make any new friends?"

"I did actually. Molly Weasley, she is another one, I know, she's a 5th year and we ran into each other. We're friends now. I had a sleepover with her, Lucy and Roxanne. Oh, and her elder sister graduated this year, she's called Lucy too. And I brought cookies that I made all by myself!..."

 _ **A/N**_ _: Another chapter and year finished! This one is a bit shorter than the last one. Next chapter will be summer. Please tell me what you think! I will answer any questions in a PM. I am looking for a Beta Reader, so if any of you is one, please contact me. This is new to me, so I don't know exactly how this works._

 _Thanks a lot to_ _ **MagicStar11**_ _for reviewing! Your kind words are what motivate me to keep on writing._


	18. The Summer

_Disclaimer: I am not JKR_

Chapter 18 - The Summer

"Wake up, Su." my mother's gentle voice was the first thing I heard. I grunted and turned my back to her.

I could hear her continuing to try to get me up, her voice getting more exasperated with each second. I ignored her.

Soon she left, and I drifted back into the blissful arms of sleep.

"Wake UP!" a while later, it was Dev. His irritated pleading was also ignored.

When I became aware again, the sunlight barely entered my eastward window. Feeling gloriously rested, I sat up and stretched my arms with a yawn. It was time to wake up. And I really needed to brush my teeth.

* * *

"Good morning!" I greeted my family happily as they sat having breakfast at the kitchen table.

"Hey sleepyhead." my father answered in a disapproving voice. His intentions of disciplining me, however, were marred by the affectionate grin resting on his face.

"Hey, don't look at me like that. I had to catch up on many months worth of sleep." I defended myself.

He snorted. "Right."

"You have to wake up early to exercise, you know."

My mum handed me the remains of a bread-loaf. As I moved to cut it, my father pulled a grimace. I rolled my eyes.

"There's nothing wrong with the bread. It's perfectly tasty." I retorted in tired voice.

"It's _three days old_." he said in a voice that expected me to understand his aversion to food that was not immediately off the oven (or pan).

I rolled my eyes again, deciding not to dignify that with a response. It was a common occurrence in my house, after all.

* * *

I stretched my arms out, enjoying the early morning freshness about me. A smile played my lips.

My parents had decided to climb the local mountain. It was short, about 20 minutes, or 300 stairs to climb. They scaled it regularly, and wanted to show off their own physical fitness. Too bad for them. Because of my training with Fred, I reached the top in 10 minutes flat.

I looked around, and spotted the rest of my family reaching the top. They were only five minutes behind me, but expected me to be last. My father was incredibly proud, my brother was jealous (being physically fit was _his_ thing), and my mother was happy for me.

"So, make it up, did you?" I teased.

"What have you been doing at Hogwarts?" my father asked, amazed.

"Oh, nothing much." Honestly, it was the fact that Fred made me climb the Quidditch bleacher stands up and down that toned my thighs and calves.

"And why now? How do get your lazy butt out of bed?" now it was my mum teasing.

"I don't know. One day I just decided to get into shape, and not give up no matter what happens."

My brother snorted. "Please. You can't have known what all to do by yourself."

"I didn't." my voice was steady, but slightly apprehensive about my father finding out that I trained _alone with a boy_.

"Does Hogwarts have physical education as a compulsory class?" my mother asked curiously.

"No they don't. The only ones who do sports are those on the Quidditch team, and I know Su isn't on the Slytherin Quidditch Team." Dev interrupted.

I looked away, at the shrubs adorning the top of the hill.

"I get personal training."

"From who?"

My eyes finally met Dad's.

"Fred Weasley."

He raised an eyebrow. "A boy? In your class?"

"A _friend._ " I answered through gritted teeth. "Whom I have been friends with for the last 4 years. Who is a Gryffindor. Who is a Weasley, part of a family who valour honour above loads of other things. I am great friends with his twin, and his best friend, and best friends with his cousin."

He looked at me for a while before smirking. "As long as you are get into shape, and are not his girlfriend, it's fine."

I let out a relieved sigh. "Please. He's definitely not my boyfriend. I don't have one."

"Good. Remember, no boyfriends till you finish your studies and get a job, okay?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

Internally, I was smirking. _That depends on your definition of boyfriend_. I wasn't a Slytherin for nothing. Hehe.

* * *

Dev and I were lazing around in my living room, watching a movie on TV.

"Switch the channel, bro, we've watched this one so many times!" I ordered, irritated.

"I want to watch it again." he answered stubbornly.

I sighed. He was being purposefully irritating, I knew it. I tried again.

"C'mon, Dev, switch the channel, I don't want to watch this!"

He muttered under his breath, a giant grin on his face as he remained annoyingly immobile.

That's it. I snapped and jumped up. The switch for the TV was vulnerable, and I switched it off. Immediately the flat screen went black. He swore.

"What are you doing? Turn it back on!" Dev whined.

"Not until you promise to watch something else."

"But I like that movie!"

"I don't like it! We both are watching, remember?"

Our voices were rising.

"MUM! SU'S NOT LETTING ME WATCH TV!" he shouted.

I rolled my eyes. "WELL, HE IS NOT AGREEING TO A MOVIE THAT I LIKE TOO!"

"SHUT UP! I'M COMING." she shouted back from upstairs.

Dev was left at the receiving end of my scorching glare. Soon, my mum arrived at the scene.

"Look, if you can't agree what to watch, then no-one gets to watch." she told us tiredly.

My glare turned into one of deliberation. Something clicked and we grinned at each other.

"I can't believe we are having this argument _again_." I commented through my grin.

"I know, right." he grinned back.

I turned the switch back on and went to sit next to him on the sofa putting an arm around his shoulders.

"Let's watch 'You don't mess with the Zohan' again."

My mom was left shaking her head at our hot and cold interaction.

* * *

 _28 June 2017_

 _Dear Su,_

 _How have you been doing? I know you don't have an owl, so I decided to write you first. Allow Hermes some rest, though. The flight to India must be very long._

 _My parents are okay too. The usual dinners with other pureblood families, etc, etc, have all been going. This year naturally it was more awkward, especially with Bea and Haily. However they know the Zabinis are a very wealthy and influential family, and they are civil at least in front of the elders._

 _I wish I could visit you. Unfortunately, I think we should take this friendship slowly. Maybe next year we could meet in Diagon Alley, and the year after I can come stay. I just have to convince them that our friendship won't affect my ability to put up a charade in front of others. Honestly, it has been affected, but I pretend it hasn't._

 _Tell me about you! How did your parents react when they saw you? Have you had any chance to prove yourself to them? And how is Dev? I bet you have already finished all your homework._

 _Love,_

 _Lucy_

 _7 July 2017_

 _Dear Lucy,_

 _Thanks for writing. I was worried how to get to you as I have no knowledge about anything magical around here. I am probably the only witch for miles. I made sure Hermes is well rested and fed before sending him out again._

 _I am glad to hear your parents have been warming to me. I would love to meet them someday!_

 _Funnily enough, your dinners and charade isn't very different from what I do here. My parents have friends as well, and I have dinner with them often too, careful about concealing my magic, and try to answer as less questions about my Scottish boarding school as possible. That is hard, as one of the major conversation topics is education here. I like these people though, and their kids are all quite okay. My only complaint would be things can get a bit boring sometimes._

 _Dev and I have been having loads of fun. We met all of our old school friends from the Muggle school we used to attend, and it's hard to speak in the local tongue. Four years away and I remember next to nothing of a language I could once speak fluently. It's a pity, really, but I don't regret anything. Going to Hogwarts is worth it. Especially now that all the trouble is over._

 _One thing that I found interesting, is my physical changes. I am almost 16 now, and with all of Fred's training, I am happy to say I am in good shape. But that's not all. My mum mentioned how much she notices me getting looked at by guys here. I was oblivious to it all, of course, and really surprised about this. I am not sure whether to thank Fred or curse him._

 _I think that's all really. You are welcome home anytime._

 _Love and hugs,_

 _Su_

 _PS: Of course I finished all my homework! Have you? Tell me if you need any help._

* * *

 _9th July 2017_

 _Hey Su!_

 _I was so glad to get you letter! Thanks for sending it along with Hermes. I hope the poor owl didn't have to travel too much. Fred and I are great, thanks. Mum and Dad are good too._

 _I am spending my days trying to stop Dad and Fred from pranking too much, and helping at the shop. I can say that working for my dad is probably one of the most entertaining jobs ever. He is hilarious, and old Verity is really nice to me. Fred loves working at the shop too, though he mostly is in Dad's inventing room with Dad making new products. Whether he is actually good at that needs to be found out._

 _Summer always comes with Saturday night dinners and the Burrow. Grandma makes food for all of us, with some help from Uncle Ron (who turned out to be a fantastic cook) and Aunt Audrey (who owns the posh Wizarding restaurant 'Lumos'). With all Weasley tempers coming together, and the dinners being a great opportunity to 'meet-the-family', there always is some sort of drama going down. Just last week, Teddy and Victoire announced their engagement, and the week before that Uncle Ron and Rose had a fight because he saw her flirting with Scorpius. Both Scorpius and Rose denied all allegations (Oh, yeah, Scorpius is staying with Al at Potter Manor, and he comes to all dinners, just like Teddy does)._

 _I found it really hilarious that you didn't notice how great you look till your mom pointed it out. Sometimes I wonder whether Fred built you like this for his benefit, instead of yours. Anyway, that's all, unless you want to hear about Molly and Rose and me going shopping in the Muggle World, but I know you hate shopping so I won't say anything._

 _Love,_

 _Roxanne_

 _PS: Fred says hi, and to enjoy the summer while you can, whatever that means._

* * *

 _15 July 2017_

 _Dear Al and Scorpius,_

 _Sorry I haven't written to you yet, but not having an owl causes a certain predicament. I don't want to overtax the owls, so I only send it to two different people per journey. I am using Roxanne's owl to deliver my letter to her and one to you. And she was the one who told me Scorpius is staying over, so I figured a combined letter would kill two birds with one stone._

 _Not that you two are birds._

 _So, how is everybody there? I hope James isn't getting into too much trouble at home, and just working with Fred in the shop like I assume he is. And Lily. Last I heard she her latest love was painting? Send me some pictures of the stuff she's doing._

 _And how are Mr and Mrs Potter? Mr Potter is obviously busy, seeing as he is the head of the Auror Department. But I hope for all our sake he's not too busy. Because that would mean there is dark magic related trouble, and I really don't want that happening. Now, my idol and the woman who I absolutely love, Ginny Potter. How is she? She must be working hard too, as this is the season for the Quidditch Cup, and she must be travelling to cover all matches. (By-the-by, my favorite Quidditch team are the Holyhead Harpies. And not just because of your mum, also because of Gwenog Jones. And because they are an all female team kicking guys' arses)._

 _And my dear Scorpius, how are your parents? Last I heard, Mr and Mrs Malfoy were doing rather well with a new investment, so give them my wishes and congratulations when you next write to them._

 _Now that all the formal stuff is out of the way, let's move on to the fun part. Dev and I have been having a great air-conditioned-summer. It has been hot. And I don't mean British hot. I mean very-close-to-the-equator kind of hot. We spend most our time indoors, living like Muggles. It is a very pleasant change. Coming home always reminds me of what I am missing. Spending so much time with each other though is going to drive us round the bend. Lately we have been fighting over who gets to shower first, even though we have 3 bathrooms at home. Mum's going spare too._

 _What about you? Any new family gossip that I am sure occurred during one of the Weasley Dinners? Please tell me. I have a large family too, but we don't meet often, all of us together, because firstly, we have to hide our magic, and secondly, we don't have magic to allow for quick transportation. So let me live vicariously through your huge family._

 _Lastly, you better have been doing your homework. I have finished all of mine, of course. I did it the first week at home. I am not expecting you to have finished it, but I hope at least a little of me has rubbed off on you._

 _Love and hugs,_

 _Su_

 _PS: My parent's reaction to my new stamina and fitness was hilarious. I wish you could have seen it._

* * *

"I think we should spend the last week of August in London again." proclaimed Dev at the dining table. We were having lunch together.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course we'll do that. It's tradition by now."

My mother, sensing a fight opened her mouth to interrupt us, when two owls flew in through the dining room window.

Both of them landed in front of me. I untied the letter from the owl carrying two first, who then settled down in front of Dev. The second owl also had a letter tied to its foot.

"It's our Hogwarts letters." I told my parents. "And one from Roxanne."

I picked up my letter from Hogwarts. It seemed heavier than usual. I frowned for a minute, wondering why that was, before sucking in a breath. My fingers trembled as they ripped the Hogwarts seal open and turned the envelope upside down. Something round fell onto the table with a _clang_. One look at the object confirmed my suspicions as I let out a squeal.

"Oh My Merlin!" I exclaimed.

"What? What's wrong?" asked my mother.

"I AM THE NEW PREFECT!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, standing up and running through my house.

"IT'S ME! IT'S ME! IT'S MEEEEEEE!"

My mother laughed and hugged an out-of-breath me. Soon my brother also squeezed me tightly.

"Congratulations, sis." a grinning Dev said.

"Your father will be so proud." added my mother.

"Don't tell him anything. Let's keep it a secret till he comes home, okay?" I ordered, with a pointed look at my brother, whose only response was a wicked smirk.

"I mean it." his smirk softened into a genuine smile.

"What about Roxanne? She must have written to tell you about her becoming prefect too!" he said.

I ran back into the dining room and hastily opened her letter. A giant smile graced my face as I read it. Dev was right. Roxanne was the new Gryffindor prefect! My excitement gradually grew as I read on. Apparently becoming prefect wasn't the only reason of her writing to me.

"ANA!" I called.

"YES?" she called back.

"COME HERE A MINUTE!"

"COMING!"

Her head poked through the door of the dining room. "What do you want?"

"Roxanne invited me to stay with them for the rest of August. Can I go? Please?" I asked, my face shining.

She deliberated for a minute. "Well, alright. It's a yes from me, but you need to ask your father."

I nodded. "Thanks!" I went a gave her a tight hug.

"What about the our trip to London?" asked a petulant Dev.

"Y'all can go without me." I answered, still buzzed.

* * *

As soon as the highly uncomfortable sensation of Apparating faded, I opened my eyes. In front of me was large purple coloured house, with blue stripes. The garden was messy and overgrown, with lots of orange flowers growing everywhere. In between was a narrow strip of stones which I assumed was the path into the house. There was a huge chimney that was almost completely charcoal black. The lower floor looked airy, with lots of windows, and the second floor had also some windows. The attic however just had one tiny square window at the very top. I guessed that was because George Weasley didn't want any spies to able to see into his personal laboratory.

I turned to the man himself who was standing next to me and whose hand I was still gripping tightly. His auburn-haired daughter was on his other side, but she had already let go of his hand. I copied her stance.

"I _love_ your house." I told him.

He laughed. "You haven't seen it yet."

"Yes, but I just know it's going to be awesome."

Roxanne grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the house in question. "Come on! I want to show you everything."

I looked back to a grinning George before matching her excitement and plastering a huge smile on my face.

"Show me your room first!"

* * *

The sky was tinged orange and red as the sun rose. The grass beneath me was soft and green. A cool breeze lifted the hair on my skin. But I was sweaty and absolutely exhausted.

"Well? Will you take that long of a break again?" asked a cocky voice.

I shook my head, raising it infinitesimally before letting it plop back onto the grass.

It was my first morning training session with Fred after my 2 months at home. I hadn't realised how much that actually affected my stamina, since I had never taken such a large break before. The woods around the Weasley home were really perfect to run through, and Fred had constructed some sort of makeshift exercise area to do our core training in. Since Fred has been working out, he was still in perfect shape and was really smug about it.

He lay down on the grass next to me. "Beautiful, aren't they? Summer mornings?"

"I think nature is always beautiful, and no one really appreciates it till it's gone."

"Wow, you're really profound in the mornings."

I shrugged as much as I could while lying in the grass. "It comes and goes."

We were both silent for a while before we got up and headed in the direction of the purple and blue house for a shower.

* * *

I landed with a _whoosh_ onto the carpet of the Burrow. Immediately Angelina, who had flood in before me brushed the ash off my shoulders.

"Thanks."

"No problem dear. Come now, I will introduce you to everyone."

I took a deep breath and looked at the group of mostly red-haired people scattered around the living room.

"This is Bill" A shy nod.

"His wife, Fleur" a wave and a " _Bonsoir_ " which resulted in a dazzling smile.

"Their eldest daughter, Victoire." a smile. I recognised her from Hogwarts.

"Her fiancé, Teddy." another shy nod. This was my first meeting with the very good-looking metamorphmagus.

"Younger daughter, Dominique, who likes to be called Dom." a smile. She had just graduated from Hogwarts. She winked back.

"Their son, Louis." I smiled shyly at the gorgeous part-Veela.

"That's Percy." I nodded at the stern-looking man.

"His wife, Audrey." Another nod.

"His elder daughter Lucy." I nodded at her.

"And you know Molly." I waved at her and she waved back.

"Ron." a small "Hi".

"Hermione." I was nervous a second, unsure of how to greet the Minister of Magic. My fears were dispersed however, when she came forward and shook my hand with a friendly smile.

"Rose" a wide smile and wave.

"Her brother, Hugo." a smile and a nod.

"Harry." a shy grin.

"Ginny." she came and hugged me. _Ginny Potter_ hugged me!

"James." He kissed me on my cheek, smirking as my face heated up.

"Al." he hugged me.

"Lily." a wave.

"And Scorpius." He hugged me too.

After the introductions, everybody dispersed to continue whatever it was they were doing. Al and Scorpius stayed by my side, and so did Roxanne who had flooed in after me.

"So, what did you do at Uncle George's house?" asked Al.

"Nothing much. Fred and I started to train again, Roxanne and I spent lots of time in the nearby Muggle town."

"Su was in really bad shape the first day. She just lay reading in bed the rest of the day." she added.

I huffed in annoyance as Al laughed.

"Oh! What did you do there?" asked Scorpius, his eyes shining with excitement. He was a huge fan of anything Muggle. Thought they were brilliant. I agreed.

"Well, we gossiped a lot in cafés. We went to bookstores. I introduced her to Muggle Novels."

"Well, take me with you, next time." he asked me.

"No problem Scorp." then I leant down to whisper in his ear, "We can take Rose with us too."

He blushed. I chuckled.

"Yep, I heard about your run-in with Ron Weasley. Something about you flirting with Rose?"

The previously accumulated colour drained from his face. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Haven't you been to the shop yet?" asked Al.

"Not yet, we wanted to do that next week, actually." answered Roxanne.

"Well, I wanted to go with you two. And then maybe grab an ice-cream at Fortescue's while Roxy works." I explained.

"Sounds good to us." said Scorpius after sharing a look with Al.

"Can I come with you?" asked Rose, coming up to us, "I want to hit Flourish and Blotts'."

I had no problem with that. "Of course. I actually want to get some books too. Some rulebooks about Hogwarts."

Scorpius and Al looked confused. "I got Prefect, didn't Roxy tell you?"

Their expressions cleared.

"Oh, that's right. Congratulations!" Al moved in for another hug.

"That's so cool. I knew you would get it. You're the best in your year." said Scorpius.

I was smiling at him, when Hermione called all of us into the dining room. I followed all the Weasleys and Potter into the magically enlarged room. The scene made my jaw drop. Hanging was a huge banner saying "CONGRATULATIONS ROXANNE AND SUNITA, NEW PREFECTS!"

"It's tradition in the Weasley House, started by Mrs Weasley when Ron and I were made Prefects." said a smiling Hermione.

I flushed at all the attention, and took my seat, thanking everyone profusely.

During dinner (which was delicious. The cooks had paid special attention to my vegetarian diet), the adults reminisced on their times and experiences with Prefect Parties.

"I remember the first party." said Harry. "Merlin, I was really surly. At first I was somewhat surprised with Dumbledore for not making me a Prefect, then was guilty for feeling jealous of my best friend, then happy because Sirius mentioned that my dad never was one either, and was soon moody again when I realized giving Fred and George money to start the joke shop might tear the family apart as Mrs Weasley didn't want them to. And then, I felt even more terrible as Moody showed me a photo of the original Order of the Phoenix, which included my parents."

Hermione shook her head fondly. "You were just moody in general that year. A lot of angst. Ron and I were so worried."

Suddenly Ron laughed. "That was one of the reasons you started the DA, isn't it? Because you knew it would make him feel better?"

She nodded. "Part of the reason, yeah."

Suddenly Mrs Weasley (who had given me a big hug when she met me) spoke up. "Wait a minute… Harry, what was that about giving Fred and George money to start their joke shop?"

He looked at George nervously. "Uh… didn't you tell her about that, George?"

"No he didn't." she said, her voice going dangerous.

"Wasn't I right about drama?" whispered Roxanne into my ear, who was sitting next to me.

"Well, I… uh… gave them my… Triwizard Winnings." he said, scratching the back of his neck.

"What? That's a 1000 galleons!" she exclaimed, and turned to George. "What did I tell you about accepting money from others?"

"Mum, relax, it was just a loan." her son tried to soothe her. "Besides, he said he was going to throw the money into the gutter if we didn't accept it."

"But… a thousand galleons!"

"That's what we said. But he only replied with, 'Imagine how many Canary Creams that is.'" he answered, grinning at the memory.

Mrs Weasley's eyes went from fierce to wet. "Oh Harry… you've done so much for us."

He blushed. "I was just repaying the favor. You uh… took in a poor orphan with loads of issues. I considered you my real family since Second Year."

I let out a small 'Awwwww.' Unfortunately, the table was quiet, and everybody was able to hear me. I flushed again at all the eyes on me.

"Just because I am a Slytherin doesn't mean I can't recognise a sweet moment." I defended myself.

"Definitely, as Al is one of the mushiest people in the family." piped up Lily.

That comment made everyone laugh, and I looked gratefully at the girl. She smiled at me and gave me a thumbs up, ignoring Al's indignant 'Hey!'.

* * *

"Lucy!" I exclaimed as soon as I caught sight of my blonde friend.

She heard my call and turned around and saw me. A huge smile graced her face as she began to walk towards me briskly. I rolled my eyes. A proper young pureblood doesn't run. I wanted to, but suppressed the urge when I saw her parents watching our interaction carefully.

When she reached me, she gave me a big hug. "Hi! I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too!" I grinned happily.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't our 5th year friend." said a voice behind coming up behind us.

The newcomer was hugged as well.

"Where are the others?" I asked him.

"Scorpius and Rose were acting too caught up in each other so I decided to come find you." said Al.

It was our long awaited trip to Diagon Alley. Originally, only a small group were planned to come, but then the entire group of Hogwarts attending Weasleys decided to come buy their stuff for the new Year. I had also written to Lucy to meet us there. Soon after arriving, we broke off into smaller groups. With Al, Scorpius and Rose going off, and me going to find Lucy.

"Oh well, you can tag along with us then." I said, taking pity on the poor boy. One could only live with so much of them before feeling the need to bash their heads together and make them snog.

"Where's Roxanne?" asked Lucy.

"She needed to get some new robes, and she made the mistake of saying that in front of Dom and Molly, who dragged her off for clothes shopping. I just made a narrow escape." I exclaimed.

"Using me for your selfish purposes, eh? Who would've thought!" drawled Lucy.

We looked at each for a second before bursting into laughter. Al looked at us weirdly before shrugging it off. I hooked an arm around Lucy and Al's elbows. "Come on, let's go to Flourish and Blotts'."

"You've got to tell everything about your dinner with Britain's First Family." said she.

"Well, my fellow Frenchwoman Fleur absolutely _loved_ me…"

 _ **A/N:**_ _Somehow I was able to update this week! Sorry if you have any confusion regarding the letters, it's just that I didn't write every single letter they wrote to each other, just some snippets. So don't get confused. Su was using one owl to send letters to two different people. So pay attention to the address and signature! If you have any other questions about the story, feel free to leave a review._

 _A huge THANK YOU to_ _ **TIGERSAGE**_ _for reviewing! In reply to your question, not she won't anytime soon, since she is quite young and definitely abstinent till she comes of age. As for any romantic entanglements, I suggest you wait and read on! And hearing your words of encouragement made my day! It's people like you who have me fighting hard for a daily half hour of writing._

 _And I am still looking for a Beta Reader, so if any are out there, some help on how to find one is appreciated!_

 _10th Reviewer of this story gets a custom one-shot. The winner can choose the basic plot of it._


	19. The Birthday

_**A/N:** We're back at Hogwarts, Su has started 5th Year._

 _Disclaimer: Still not JKR. OCs are mine, though._

Chapter 19 - The Birthday

Running, I emerged onto Platform 9 ¾. I grinned at the sight of the familiar scarlet steaming engine before joining Roxanne who'd come before me. Just in time, too, as Fred came running barely a second later. He looked around eagerly, and then his face fell.

"Damn. I was hoping to crash into you," he told me.

I chuckled. "Roxanne warned me beforehand."

He looked at his twin with an expression of mock outrage. "Traitor! Aren't you supposed to be unswervingly loyal?"

"Please. I am not your wife," she snorted.

He grimaced at that. "Eww. Did you have to say that?"

"Fred, you're in O.W.L. year now. Grow up a little," Angelina admonished her son as she came through the barrier.

He merely rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I'm going to find James."

"Wait! I am coming with you. I want to see Al." I spoke to his back.

"Remember to show up at the Prefect's carriage!" Roxanne called as I rushed after him.

As I would ever forget.

After minutes of maneuvering through parting families, Fred and I found the Potters. Lily was chatting with her dad about something, Al was hugging Ginny (Yes, I called her that now) and James was trying to get his cat into a cage for the train ride. Mew (The cat. James decided it would be very cool having a cat able to say it's own name. And that led to him calling his cat 'Mew'. Sometimes I wonder how that boy is such a good prankster.) was putting up quite the fight, scratching her owner with her sharp claws.

Al noticed us first and a bright smile immediately appeared on his face. "Su!"

"How nice of you to notice me," commented Fred sarcastically.

Al's eyes widened a fraction in realization before narrowing. "Like you would have greeted me. You're here for James anyways," his tone was teasing.

"Of course he is. He needs his better half like a fish needs water," said James dramatically.

Fred shoved him playfully. "I think it's the other way around. Had I not told you beforehand about me coming to you, you'd have run off without saying goodbye to your family,"

"Uh, Fred, you did basically the same thing," I pointed out.

"So did you," he retorted.

I opened my mouth to reply when I realized he was right. I had sped off to find Al without any word of thanks or bye to the people I had stayed a month with. How rude of me! I wanted to turn around and run back, but by some miracle the owner of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes and his family were walking in our direction. I sighed in relief before turning around and giving Al his hug.

"I missed you, Al."

"I missed you too, Su."

"Guys, we saw each other the day before yesterday when Su came over," came a voice from behind us. It was Scorpius. Seemed like the Potters were the family everybody gravitated to.

"I know. But you stayed with him for so long. He's my best friend too. And I missed you too, bestie," I told him, grinning.

"Don't call me bestie. I prefer best friend," he said, frowning.

"I'm hurt! I thought I was your best friend Su!" whined Fred.

"First come, first serve, I'm afraid."

George, Angelina and Roxanne reached us.

"Angelina, I'm so sorry I didn't say anything. I feel terrible. I just ran off!" I apologized immediately.

She waved it off with a friendly smile. "Oh, that's okay. I wanted to meet Harry and Ginny anyway."

"I still should have said something," I mumbled, looking at my shoes.

"Hello everyone! Su, I knew I would find you here!" another cheerful and familiar voice sounded.

I looked up to see my little bro, and my parents.

"Hi! How are you?" asked Harry, beaming at my parents. They smiled back and answered in kind. Then they greeted George and Angelina.

"I hope Sunita behaved herself? I warned her not to be a bother," asked my mum.

"Oh, she was perfectly lovely. She helped with everything. We loved having her," answered Angelina, all smiles.

"In fact, we wanted her to come for the Christmas vacations too," said Ginny. "To our place this time."

My father had a look on his face that I identified as 'politely decline' and I felt my heart sink.

"Oh, I am sorry, but Christmas is strictly family time for us. Maybe some other time," he answered.

"Of course, we understand, it's similar at our home too. Well, what if she stays at your place during Christmas vacation, and we get her for our New Year's Party?" she replied.

I grinned. There was a good reason I liked Ginny so much. She knew my dad would find it rude to refuse a second time.

"That would be alright, as long as we get her back the next day, around noon if you wish," he said after a pause.

"Wonderful, thanks!" said Ginny happily.

I wanted to perform a victory leap. Ginny had managed to negotiate a deal with my dad! And he was one of the most stubborn people I knew.

Just then, the train's horn blared.

"Oh! We should get on the train, quickly it's eleven!" said Roxanne.

There a was short flurry of activity as hugs went around, and some last minute kisses and promises to write were exchanged.

Lily, Al, James, Roxanne, Fred, Dev and I barely managed to jump onto the train before it started moving. We all looked at each other.

* * *

"Merlin, I hope they hurry up with the Sorting, I'm starving," I complained to Al, Lucy and Scorpius. Al laughed. I probably reminded him of Uncle Ron again. Lucy shot me a sympathetic yet condescending look.

"Well, you should have eaten more on the train. There were enough sweets for all of us," she said.

I grimaced. "I wasn't hungry then."

She rolled her eyes but shut up since Professor Longbottom had just entered the room with tiny first years trailing behind. They all looked so nervous, that I felt pity for them.

"I swear they get tinier every year. I wasn't that tiny when I was eleven." I whispered to Al, who was on my left.

He smiled but didn't say anything.

Just then, Professor Longbottom started telling the new kids what to do. A few of them were visibly relieved at the seemingly easy task in front of them, but many still looked afraid of being sent home.

The Sorting passed quickly, as it does when you're not being Sorted, or don't know anybody doing so. Soon Professor McGonagall rose and invited us all to dinner. I sighed in relief and grabbed the pasta nearby. Thanks to the House-Elves, I always had some vegetarian food near me.

"So," began Lucy, "what do you want to do tomorrow?"

I grinned, excitement coursing through my body at the mention of tomorrow. Somehow this reaction hasn't gotten old yet.

"Oh, I don't know." I answered after a minute. "Surprise me."

Al smirked in anticipation, and Scorpius looked thoughtful, while Lucy frowned.

"Can't you give us something to go on with?" she complained.

"Shouldn't this be the other way round, me begging you for details? And if you don't have anything to go on with, I am at my wits' end. I mean, we have spent the last year as very good friends, you know."

She rolled her eyes. "Aren't we best friends?"

"You have to file an application first. Up till now, Al and Scorpius are the only ones worthy and holding that title. Of-course, to risk getting disowned for me does look pretty good on your CV."

"CV?" she asked.

"Curriculum Vitae. Haven't you heard of it?" surely she must have. I mean, there were job applications in the wizarding world as well.

"Oh!" Scorpius' face brightened. "I know what you're talking about. No, we have them too, but we don't call them CVs."

"Yeah, we just call them our list of assets," said Al.

I snickered. "Yeah, okay."

Dinner passed quickly. I didn't pay much attention anyone else, as I was starving and eating as fast as was socially acceptable. Lucy, Al and Scorpius were talking in low voices, no doubt discussing tomorrow.

* * *

I was awoken on the best day of the year, by a huge splash of water. My eyes shot open, and I sat up, blinking the water out of my eyes.

"Happy Birthday!", came a cheerful voice beside me.

"Wha- Why did you do that?" I asked, still dazed and sleepy.

Fred smirked. "You wanted to be surprised. What better way than Deja-vu?"

"Huh?"

He rolled his eyes. "Merlin, why are you so dense in the mornings? It's your sweet sixteen, girl, you said last night you wanted to be surprised. Ergo, the bucket of water."

I finally caught up. "Oh. That's right. It's my birthday," As soon as I said that, a large childlike grin blossomed on my face.

It was my sixteenth birthday! I absolutely love my birthdays. I quickly got out of bed and rushed into the bathroom to get dressed up.

Soon it was time for my yearly body inspection. My hair was a little longer now, it had grown past my shoulders, my face was thinner, yet my features were the same. My dark brown eyes still sparkled, maybe a little more because of my birthday. I had grown taller, was around 5 feet 4 inches now. My previously flabby stomach had changed into a toned midriff. My bum and boobs looked great. Muscles, especially in my shoulders and thighs, were defined. All my hard work with Fred had paid off and I was really fit now. I had come a long way from my old self physically, but my mental self was the same. Just because I worked out regularly didn't mean I would jump at a chance to run an extra lap around the lake.

I nodded at my reflection, grinning. That was my birthday gift to myself.

* * *

My legs pumped as I jogged my second lap around the Black Lake. I had missed running at Hogwarts. There was an ethereal beauty to mornings here, which was stunning and made me forget about my burning calves and tired limbs. I had my best runs here.

No beauty in the world, however, could distract me from my slick body. It was hot. Very hot. And I was sweating. A lot. (that rhymed!). A glance at my right told me Fred was under the same predicament and had peeled off his t-shirt, running in only loose shorts. I was feeling the same urge.

After a minute, I couldn't take it anymore. Still running, I removed my blue t-shirt and flung it into the bushes, leaving me in just my blue and purple sports bra and tight black compression shorts. Much better.

About a minute later, Fred faltered. I looked at him, surprised. He had never missed a step on our runs before. His eyes glazed over, before he shook his head and continued at his original pace. I shrugged and kept running.

That missed step was not the only odd thing I noticed. He was noticeably slow all time during the run, and during core training. When he didn't get up again during a sit-up, I'd had enough. I got up and put my hands on my hips.

"Alright, spit it out. What's up with you? Are you sick or something?" I asked, irritated.

He blushed. "What- what are you talking about?

"You know exactly what I am talking about. All morning you've been inexplicably sloppy. You aren't even able to do a proper sit-up! If you're sick, why didn't you go to Madam Pomfrey?"

He stared at his feet. "I am not sick."

Growling in frustration, I asked, "Now, will you tell me why you're acting weird? You've been like this ever since-"

I stopped. Realization hit me and a huge smirk spread on my face. "Ever since I removed my T-shirt."

He blushed even harder, but finally looked at me. "Hey, don't blame me, remember how tongue-tied you were when we made the deal?"

"Oh, I remember. I believe you said something along the lines of, 'See something you like?'"

He nodded, blush fading and his trademark smirk came back. "Just for the record, I really did my work, didn't I?"

"Oh you did. I agree. However, even though I look fantastic in these shorts and bra, I still won't be joining you in a broom closet."

He fake-pouted. "That's too bad. I was hoping you'd be so grateful that you'd join me."

"In your dreams, Weasley."

"Oh, definitely," he smirked wider.

I rolled my eyes. Stupid boys, with their lecherous thoughts. At least I hide mine better.

"Come on, let's go back to the Lake, I got you a present," he said.

Surprised, I followed him. I hoped it was a proper present and not just another prank like last year.

We sat down on the shores of the Black Lake. The sun was up now, shining warmly down at us. I closed my eyes and thanked the stars for the beautiful weather. The feeling of the sun seeped through my skin.

When I opened my eyes, I was surprised to see a picnic blanket filled with loads of breakfast foods (that Fred usually did not allow me to eat) spread out.

"What's this?" I asked.

"Your birthday present. I figured you could have a little fun today," he answered, smiling.

I laughed and hugged him. "Thanks!"

My mouth watered at the assortment of foods present. The House Elves had prepared everything ranging from a French croissant, to French toast, to pancakes and even baked a small cake. There were also some scrumptious-looking cupcakes, my favorite pasties!

He smirked at me, "What are you waiting for? Start eating!"

I needed no more encouragement. Within seconds, my mouth was stuffed with a bite of French toast while I held the remaining in my hands. Fred looked at me and laughed.

"You have no manners, do you?"

"Actually, I use them only when necessary," I replied, after swallowing.

We grinned at each other.

As we ate, we chatted.

"Remember last year?" I asked.

"How could I forget? We pranked you and you pranked us back," he said, grinning.

"I did like that hair, you know. I am not allowed to change the colour myself, so you doing it for me was a blessing in disguise."

"I can do it again, if you'd like," he was smirking now.

I rolled my eyes. "No thanks."

The smirk did not leave.

"You know, Fred, the first time I met you, I wondered whether your and James's cheeks ever hurt from the constant smirking and grinning you do," I said conversationally.

"Well," he said, grabbing a cup cake, "they do, which is why we have a permanent numbing charm on our cheeks."

I dropped the piece of cake I was eating. "You're kidding."

He shook his head. "Our eldest cousin, Victoire, advised us to go for one when we were 6 or 7 years old. She's a healer, and was interested in healing even at eleven."

I snickered. "I can't believe you needed medical attention because of your smirking."

"I know it sounds crazy," he grabbed a pancake and dipped it in chocolate syrup. "Speaking of Vic, you're invited to her and Teddy's wedding next summer."

"Really? Why? I don't know either of them very well." I was pleased but confused.

"No, but you are Al's best friend, Roxy, Molly, and Rose's good friend, and my protegé. Besides, my family likes you, and Vic thinks you're really cool, so…" his voice trailed off.

"I am not your protegé. We just train together," I pointed out.

He rolled his eyes. "That's the part you pick to comment on?"

A small smile played my lips. "Vic thinks I am cool?"

"Well, it's not easy to be a Slytherin, especially if you are a Muggleborn."

Now I understood why. "Well, cheers to that," I said, raising a cupcake.

* * *

I joined Lucy in our first class, Charms.

"Why weren't you at breakfast?" she asked.

An eyebrow rose on my forehead. "What, no 'Happy Birthday'?"

She looked ashamed and mumbled out her greeting.

"You are spending a lot of time with the Weasleys, you know, you weren't this nosy before. And I was out on the grounds. Fred's present to me was a delicious breakfast."

She smiled as she got out her textbook. "He knows you well, doesn't he?"

I shrugged.

"Hey, do you have a thing called a Sweet Sixteen?"

She looked puzzled. "No, what's that?"

"Well, the muggles celebrate the sixteenth birthday with a special celebration called the Sweet Sixteen. I don't know how it started, but right now, it's more of a marketing gimmick than something substantial. Today is my 'Sweet Sixteen'."

"What does one do on his or her 'Sweet Sixteen'?" she asked curiously.

My eyes closed in concentration for a second before they opened.

"I have no clue, honestly. It's more of an American thing," I admitted.

"Hmm," she looked lost in thought.

Professor Flitwick entered the classroom.

* * *

Since I'd missed breakfast, the first time I met Albus and Scorpius was at lunch, where they ambushed me with huge hugs. I hugged them back, even though we were at the Slytherin table and people were staring.

"Er...thanks guys, I appreciate it, but you can get off me now…" I muttered as the hug went on.

They let go of me and wished me,

"Happy Birthday!"

"Thanks."

"Enjoying yourself?" asked Scorpius.

"Oh yes. Wake-up call aside, I've had a pretty good day so far," I answered as I served some potatoes onto my plate.

"Oh no, what did Fred do?" asked Al worriedly.

"The same thing he did on our very first day of training," my voice was a little annoyed now.

Understanding dawned on him. "I'm sorry."

Lucy, who had also come to lunch but was silent till now, interrupted. "Excuse me? Did we miss something? What did Fred do on your first day of training?"

Scorpius looked curious as well.

I looked at them, confused. "Did I never tell you? Fred woke me up with an Aguamenti."

Scorpius flinched while Lucy grimaced sympathetically. "Nah, you never told us."

"Well then, how do you know?" I asked Albus.

"Fred told me about it."

I nodded. Of course. Cousins shared funny stories of shared friends. "Is that why you aren't asking where I was at breakfast? Because Fred told you about the surprise?"

He grinned. "Yep."

Rolling my eyes, I changed the subject, "So, did you realize today is the anniversary of something?"

Scorpius snorted. "Your birth?"

"No, not my birth," I retorted. "Today is the one year anniversary of something."

Lucy brightened, "It's the anniversary of us becoming friends!"

"Ding, ding, ding. See you plonkers, you forgot this momentous occasion," I accused Al and Scorpius.

Scorpius looked slightly guilty at forgetting, while Al had a cheeky grin on. "Alas, your birthday overshadows everything else."

I laughed. It was just an excuse, but I was pleased nonetheless. He hit my weak spot; I am susceptible to flattery.

"It's okay guys. Albus is right. Her birthday does overshadow everything else," Lucy smirked at me.

"Hey, hey, do I detect mock in that sentence?" I asked in a faux-hurt voice.

"Not at all, my dear friend."

Just then, a thought entered my mind. "You know what? It's my birthday, and I am being merciful, so I will help you to bypass the paperwork… and give you the title of my best friend."

She looked delighted. "That's great! Thanks, Su."

"Anytime, bestie," A scowl took shape.

"Do not call me that," she sneered.

"Okay," I smirked, "bestie."

* * *

As soon as our last class (Herbology) ended, Lucy whipped her wand out and blindfolded me.

I was a bit uncomfortable, but my only outward reaction was a single word that passed from my lips "Kinky." Her response was a muttered "shut up." from my right. She led me through the halls of Hogwarts. I tried to keep up, but soon lost track of where I was. It was only when I was hit with a burst of sunlight that I realized we had reached the grounds. I recognized the surface under my feet turn to grass. My ears were trying to find clues as to where I was going, but it was deathly quiet.

We stopped abruptly. It was just as I realized that it was too quiet (something was up) when I felt a huge push, falling and then hitting a hard surface. Once the shock faded, I noticed the feeling of water against my skin, and the lack of oxygen. Lucy had pushed me into the freezing waters of the bloody Black Lake!

I swam to the surface of the water and took deep breaths. Onshore were a laughing Jed, Roxanne, Lucy, Albus, Scorpius, Lily, Molly and even Rose and Hugo, and of course my brother Dev. I was honestly surprised at the number of people that had come to celebrate with me. Shaking my head, I excited the icy pool and stood on the shore, wet and shivering.

"R-r-real-lly pe-people-le?" my teeth were chattering.

"Come on, you didn't think you'd have a birthday without being pranked, did you? Even if it is your Sweet Sixteen!" mocked James.

My wand was in my hand in a second and I pointed it immediately at James. He visibly flinched and shrank away from me, hands in the air.

"Okay, Okay, I'm sorry!" he whimpered.

I remained immobile for a few seconds before wordlessly drying and warming myself.

"James, have I ever complained about being pranked?"

Lily started to laugh, "I never knew you were so scared of Su, Jamie."

"Oh you should have seen the look on his face when she kneed Fred in the… well... privates," added Scorpius slyly. Rose laughed.

There must have been some sort of secret signal, because just then everybody shouted "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" together.

A huge grin lit up my face, "Thanks guys."

Dev gave me a large hug and was followed by everyone else. Molly went last, and then grabbed my hand and dragged me to a nearby tree where I saw many presents in a pile. My excitement reached nuclear levels. It was the one day where I felt truly special.

We spent the rest of the afternoon opening my presents, (with me exclaiming in delight at every single one) and laughing about funny stories about me. Dev had a lot of stories about our time in Muggle school, Al and Scorpius had a few, and even Lucy had a story about our first year. Roxanne had us in stitches with the tale of our first day at Hogwarts, when we met in the train, and later me getting sorted and the Weasleys' surprise.

It was a really memorable afternoon.

 _A/N: Okay, I am not dead, not really, and sorry for the long wait. I really will be more regular from now on, since I got a laptop!_

 _I asked for some help to find a beta earlier, and thanks to my favorite **Joeygirl1994** , I was able to find one. Many thanks to my new beta **goldensnitch0423** for editing this chapter. _

_Thanks to **TIGERSAGE** for reviewing. And yes, they were fifteen in the last chapter. Atleast Fred, Roxanne, James and Su were. The others are in different years._

 _Enjoy and please tell me what you think!_


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